The New Horizon Project
by The Lone Captain
Summary: When a man with nothing left from his world is given the choice to start over, he is transported to a world with no War, no famine, and no Humanity. Will he be able to survive being hated by most, only to find out he's part of a grand plan involving the four species of the galaxy. (Zootopia and Elite: Dangerous)
1. Chapter 1: A new Life

**Authors note: I do not own Zootopia or any of it's characters. I only own the** **original** **c** **haracters** **in my story.**

 **This is the prequel to The Gene Bearer. If you like the plot Idea, yet can't stand my old writing skill, check out my sequel or deal with the writing until chpter ten or so.**

 **People keep telling me, the writing's fine, but I can't get over it.**

* * *

 _Chapter one: A new life_

 _A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it._

* * *

"Captain- _kkrrrrrrrr_. . . Admiral Elliot Crawford, to the medical wing."

"Ugghhh." I whined while standing up from my bed. I began to rub my very dry eyes as I stumbled toward the mirror across the bunk room. What happened to sleeping in today? I thought as I combed my dark brown hair into an Ivy league style; I really should have gotten another haircut months ago, but being one of the highest ranking officers in the navy has it's perks. My blue eyes were still dry and scratchy, which prompted me to splash water onto them. Once I completed brushing my teeth, and clothing myself in Multicam Bdu's, I exited my room.

The hallway was as joyus as ever, dripping a few drops of water onto the white linoleum tiles, lights flickering from hard use and neglect; The best part was the hundreds of exposed electrical bundles running down the walls. I made a right turn from my room, which would take me towards the Main entrance of the barracks; I hadn't yet been assigned a permanent room, so the base offered me an entire squad bunk room for the time being.

With each and every click of my shiny black boots on the floor, I wondered more and more of why I was reporting to the Medical center across the base. I had my arrival check up yesterday, so there was no reason to be called… "My birthday." I muttered in realization. It was just around the corner, and this place was notorious for pranking their officers when the year passes.

Just at the bottom of the stairwell to the first floor, there was a woman leaning up against the wall, playing on her orange holographic PDA. "Hey, could you please give me the time? I forgot to grab my phone." I asked

"Umm, yeah. It's April second, thirty-three twenty-six." She replied while looking up from the large holographic screen.

"Staff Sergeant, I'm really not in the mood for you shit today." I replied dryly; Although I was almost a decade younger than her, Being toyed with wasn't the smartest thing to do to me.

"OHH, and when are you in the mood for some fun. I have to get it in when I can." She replied smugly.

"Just give the damn time." I chastened with impatience.

"Ugh, so demanding, It's o-four-thirty. . . Hey, after you get back, we're going for a beer run. Wanna come?" The Staff Sergeant aked with a sly grin.

"Thanks, but I won't be your free pass through the security gate again." I said while resuming my walk to the medical center. Once I reached the exit of the barracks, I opened the door and was instantly in shivers from the climate; Being almost three-hundred thousand miles further away than Earth is from the sun really took it's toll on the planet. While it still had lots of oxygen from our terraformation, it was cold, like twenty below all the time.

After a few seconds of shivering, I pressed on into the the cold of night. After walking for a few minutes, I laid eyes on the large Medical center. Ahh, how the expansive building was so inviting. This base was the primary hospital for the planet, which meant a very large medical facility; Nearly five-hundred meters in length and width, not to mention the dozens of stories going up to the limits of the troposphere, It was quite the building. The main entrance was completely shielded from the elements via an airlock barricade, which allowed any patients entering or exiting a brief transition from climate control to the elements.

The moment I passed through the opaque field, my body was surrounded with warm air, and I stopped my convulsing shortly after. "Admiral, morning to you." Someone said from my left. When I turned to face the voice, I found the faces of another Admiral and a General from the Marines.

"Admiral and General, What brings you to my outpost today?" I asked the graying officers with a smile.

"We require talking to you after your checkup, It's nothing too pressing, so it can wait for now." The Admiral replied.

"Sure thing John." I answered just before turning towards the automatic lexan door.

"You really shouldn't call me that with other audiences around, Elliot." Admiral John replied with a somewhat serious glare.

"Sorry bout' that Admiral." I replied as I walked into the hospital.

With a few seconds of squinting from the intensity of the lights, I regained my bearings and walked to the reception desk. "Hi, My name is Elliot Crawford, and I'm-"

"Admiral, sorry I didn't spot you there." A female voice said from behind me, which turned out to be a nurse in a green outfit. "If you would please follow me?" She asked with a faux smile that was cringeworthy.

"Why am I here? I just had my arriving physical yesterday." I asked while we walked through the sanitary, white hallways that seemed to maze in every possible direction.

"Just between us?" She asked in a whisper, to which I nodded while leaning in closer. "I have… No. Fricken. Clue." She whispered into my ear, earning a snigger from me.

"Is that so?" I asked with a silly grin. "It seems my time is very serious around here." I replied high-heartedly. Her simple sentence completely removed the sour mood I was in, and we ended up chatting away within the next minute, simply as two people, no ranks. Unfortunately all things must come to an end, my end just happened to be called patient exam room thirty-five B. The nurse attempted to stay in the room and chat with me for a few more minutes, although she was called away fairly quickly.

How time flies when good company is with you, I was wishing that for every painstakingly slow clock tick that went by in silence. I was needed so urgently down here, yet I waited for nearly an hour in the room by myself. Of course I didn't just sit the whole time; at first, I just stuck my head outside to see if a could pester another person with conversation. Alas, no luck in that department. The next thing I started doing was attempting to break into the computer across the cramped room. That occupied my time for a few minutes, although patient files are only so interesting for so long. The most childish thing I ended up doing was playing with the liquid oxygen to freeze all the pens and markers as sabotage.

"Excuse me for the dela… What on Earth are you doing?" The doctor asked me While I stared back with wide eyes, slowly pouring liquid oxygen into a coffee mug full of more pens. I rationalized how much trouble I could get in for messing with restricted equipment, and came up with my answer after a few questions.

"I-uhh… I'm making a cake with science?" I replied with falsetto pitched words.

He simply looked at the five gallon, silver tank of super-chilled gas, then the cup of still filling liquid Oxygen. "I suppose this is what I should expect from an SDI student." He muttered while sitting in a roller chair.

"Hey, We're not that bad." I countered once I closed the valve to the tank of Oxygen. "Besides, I've been in here for an hour now." I added while sitting on the exam table. "Besides, you're not even the doc."

"You would be correct… Mister Crawford. I am not." The elderly man replied while looking at a stapled stack of parchment. "I'm the U.S.S.E Director."

"Woo, do you feel accomplished sending people into the outer edges of space in search for more things to commit genocide on." I said lazily.

"You very well know that was the Empire that did that, not us." The man replied. "Anywho. I just need you to input your personal password into this-" He said while holding up a holographic PDA "before we can begin. Securit measures and all."

"*Sigh* Only on the void can you see the true colors of the universe."

"Password, accepted." The PDA replied.

"Okay then, Ya-know how you said we slingshot people out into the middle of space?" He asked with a snide tone.

"Hmm, pass."

"But you don't even know what the vehicle is?"

"... Twenty seconds, go." I replied.

"Okay, it's a wormhole generator we built under this very hospital for the next base commander to be sent through, that just happened to be you. Instead of attempting to kidnap you like we would anyone else-" This earned a scoff from me. "We decided to ask first, but you really don't have much of a choice in the matter." The Elder finished while drawing a kinetic handgun; I suppose the fool didn't know the compression suit I currently wore had non-Newtonian properties.

"You do know holding a fleet Admiral at gunpoint is punishable by electrocution until dead, correct?" I asked without the slightest worry of the weapon.

"Look, Just come willingly, and I won't have to use this. The gig really isn't that bad."

"Where am I going? You just might convince me yet." I asked while crossing my arms defiantly.

"It's an earthlike world, far more habitable than this one ta-boot. You're landing specifically in a forest to take plant and life form samples."

"So it has sentient life then?"

"We believe so. DON'T worry, no sand spiders."

"You would kinda need sand for sand spiders, Chief." I replied, which earned a frown form the U.S.S.E Director.

"Just come look at the facility, and make a full decision after that."

"You said it wasn't optional."

"Just start walking." The man ordered.

I complied, casually walking outside the exam room into the deserted hallway. "Don't think you can call for help. I've had the entire floor cleared."

"Hmm, this guy seemed to have more than five brain cells up there in his nogen." I thought as we walked down the empty halls, eventually stepping into an elevator. I'm telling you, it was like he wanted me to take the gun. Confined space, no immediate escape route available; THe worst possible place to take someone who's both physically and mentally stronger. Despite the fact I could escape at a moment's notice, I was intrigued with whatever new ship he would like to launch me in.

"Where are we going? The moment we step foot outside this elevator, you'll arrested."

"Not if i bought out the whole base, and fed the ma story of how your a double agent."

"Yeah, like anyone would believe an SDI student would betray the Federation." I replied with odium.

The man simply scoffed while pressing a series of floor buttons on the elevator panel, which caused us to descend to the first floor; I thought it was going to be the first floor anyway. In reality, we ended up on sublevel eighteen, which must have been the secret facility he spoke of a few minutes ago.

"Here we are, The road to the future. In this bunker we've constructed a device that can open a wormhole to anywhere we want in the known universe. Yeah, super cool thing that does shit." He commented dryly while nudging my back with the handgun; I'm telling you he was asking me to take the gun from him. "The portal reminds me of that one show, what was it. Star...star something... Ehh, I don't remember."

"What's with the giant donut?" I asked while studying the facility; Sure I knew exactly what the hollowed out disk was, but I really wanted to be a thorn in the director's side.

"I dunno." He replied while shrugging his shoulders.

"Aww, someone having a hard time with his memory. That tends to happen with someone of your advanced age." I replied smugly.

As we walked around, I continued to study everything around me, but mostly focusing on the large ring at the very center of the bunker. The director if the U.S.S.E continued to talk about the surface of the planet, what I would take, and many more things that I paid no attention to.

"As for the equipment you'll be taking, you'll have an experimental communications relay to give weekly updates on your mission, those will take around two years to get here."

"Yay, total isolation from everything. That way, by the time my first message gets her, I'll already have gone insane, and resorted to talking to a blood-painted catalope." I replied.

"Your simply hilarious. Just don't try anything stupid." The man said while walking off.

"Yeah, got it." I said with a dismissal wave while I studied the fifty foot vertical ring that would take me across the galaxy. I watched the ring for a while, eventually sitting on a chair to think about why I had decided this was a good idea.

"Why did I want to do this? That was really my only chance of escape." I mumbled.

"Ehh, I might be able to work something out." Admiral John said as he walked up to me.

"Really, you're in on it too. I'm sure you remember what I did to the last person that betrayed me." I said with a displeased tone.

"Relax, Son." John said while seating himself next to me. "You should just go willingly… Listen, three days ago, the Grand Court decided it no longer required the SDI programs students. Judith was presumed dead, and you… Well just look at you; It looks like Edward scissorhands drank eight beers, then tried to shave your whole body-"

"Thanks, John. That really makes me feel better." I replied with a slap to the man's stomach; it was true though, I wasn't the peak of physical appearance anymore, however my face did get all the scars removed.

"Listen, Kid. This is kinda a big deal. The Navy doesn't want one of it's most highly classified pet projects to just retire to live on the ranch with a few cows or some shit. That's why I convince for your transfer here, why I had the U.S.S.E Director recruit you. If you don't go through that gateway, you'll never make it off this base alive." Admiral John conveyed in a hush tone.

"Shit." I mumbled in response.

"Yeah, I know."

"You always give me some better information than others, what's the scoop on this place?"

"Well, It's Earth-like in more than one way; Look at this." He said while pulling up a holographic diagram of two planets, both looking like one version of Earth from now, and one from a thousand or so years ago. "This one is Earth now, and this is the place where you're going. This gave me the shivers when I first saw it, same continent shapes, same total estimated mass, but without us to fuck it up." John said.

"Dang… and you're serious about this?" "I asked with skepticism.

"Yeah! Here's the real kicker… We think it might actually be Raxxla."

"Bullshit."

"Ooh, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" He asked, which received a equally proportioned half and half expression of hatred and sorrow from me. "Aww shit, I forgot all about that for a second." He added in a regretful tone.

"Yeah… I noticed."

"...Anyway, I personally call B.S on the whole Raxxla thing, but if you start seeing Generation shipwrecks all over the place, do let me know."

We probably talked for an hour about the planet I was going to, and whether it was Really Raxxla or not. If it was, I'd be in for a real treat, longer lifespan, better air, abundant food, the list went on, and on, and on. Eventually the time came for me to get my equipment strapped on, which was already brought down by John. For some reason, he always stared at me when I strapped into my wingsuit. I suppose it was possible longing to take it for a spin. The compression suit I wore into the hospital doubled as a G-suit for combat maneuvers while using the EXO-35 Flying Falcon. Both used a highly sought after substance of meteorite to achieve their bullet resistance; I could be hit with a thirty millimeter armor piercing discarding sabot square in the chest, and not feel more than a gentle breeze on my body. How it exactly turned kinetic and thermal types of energy into material hardness was beyond me, but I sure like being near invincible.

"You jelly over there!?" I shouted while cinching the six point harness of the wingsuit to my body.

"Maybe." John replied.

"Well, maybe you should find my wife since she no longer needs hers." I replied while walking in the direction of the enormous, but inactive wormhole generator in the center of the facility.

"Why you gotta bring that up." John countered.

"You started it with the whole scissorhands thing. That's my task for you. Find my wife's body, okay?" I asked while looking towards the graying Admiral.

"Out of all tasks… Yeah, Elliot. I'll find her… How are you not upset about this shit? If I lost my wife, I'd be a blubbering mess right now.

"Don't worry about it, John. I'm not exactly human anymore, which would probably be part of it." I said while holding up my left hand, curling and uncurling the fingers.

"Oh please. That hardly counts as not being human." He replied while tapping my forearm.

"And The knight in shining armor shows up." The director of the U.S.S.E interrupted, which prompted me to deploy the offensive weaponry on my wingsuit; In a split second, the director was on the ground in pain due to a short burst of low intensity laser pulses. The source of which, were two retinal tracking beam lasers that deployed from a compartment within the pack; They towered over me by about a foot, both extracting to the left and right of my shoulders by a few inches, and staying gyroscopically stabilized from my movements in any direction.

"ADMIRAL!" John shouted at me.

"That's for pointing a gun at me." I said calmly. "Now get this show on the road!" I commanded at the technicians all staring at me. "What's the deal with the two support pods?" I asked John, who still had a completely pissed glare.

"Why did you need to do that?" John asked with annoyance as he gestured to the man being hovered away on a floating stretcher.

"He started it first by pointing a handgun at me."

"Ugh, whatever… To answer your question, the security pod is for whatever my lie on the other side. The other one is a FTL comms drive, just input your retina scan, record the message and wait for the drive to fire the message into space via a very large beam of encoded light."

"Do you take me for an idiot, Admiral?" I asked in reference to the FTL communications device using light to send the message.

"It's was I was told to say. I reacted the same way you did." He replied. "They'll come through in thirty second intervals."

"Alrighty then… Thanks for everything, ya old timer." I said while extending my hand for a shake, which he took.

"I'm only sixty-eight." He countered.

"Yeah, more like six foot eight." I said in reference to his large stature. Before John could quip something else, and end up pulling me into a conversation again, I walked up to the ramp leading to the inactive wormhole. The engineers, and technicians responsible for operating the machine were doing all sorts of things, which eventually caused the Portal to hum in a low, drawn out pitch. As the seconds went by, the low droning sound ramped up into a squeal, followed by a thunderous crack. The instant my ears were filled with the booming sound, a bluish liquid filled the ring, and rippled like an ocean.

"All right, I just have one question. Is skinny dipping allowed at this pool party?"

"Nailed it, Admiral!" John retorted from the bottom of the ramp while giving me a thumbs up from close to his chest.

"Hop off, Mate." I said while turning back towards the water. I slowly inched up to the gateway of the water, almost seeing a reflection from the liquid. When I attempted to sink my finger into the liquid, someone stopped me.

"I wouldn't recommend that, Sir. If you take to long to fully breach the gateway, your body will be sent in pieces."

"Hmm, you think my might have been just ever so slightly important to say that BEFORE I ACTUALLY DO IT!"

"... Sorry!" He shouted in response.

With that in mind, I took one last glance at the friend I would most likely never see again. "Look out Raxxla, here comes the Human race."

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 **A/N: This chapter has been rewritten for the final time as of 3/13/17. I will be endeavoring to rewrite what needs to be rewritten, so if you read the next chapter, and see a gazillion plot holes, this is why.**


	2. Chapter 2: The trek

"Look out Raxxla, Here comes the Human race." I thought while walking into the cold liquid with my eyes closed. Once the feeling of liquid on my body subsided, I opened my eyes to a whole lot of nothing. I mean so much nothing I couldn't see my own hand in front of my face when I held it out.

"Where am I?" I mumbled while looking around in the total darkness. Were those twenty-five, seventy-five odds stacked against me?

"Am I…..dead?" I asked in debate with myself. Death was not a new concept to me, having already been reanimated twice; This didn't seem like the other experiences, not a warm inviting glow, Just cold destitute darkness. All attempts to move were met with the sensation that I was paralysed, upon feeling for my lower extremities, they were there alright, just completely numb. The discovery of my paralysed legs sent the dead theory out the window, which prompted me to come up with a far more likely situation; The wormhole probably failed, and I just passed through the liquid into the other side, unconscious from whatever effects it caused. Nevertheless, the ear piercing silence befalling me was awful.

"Can anyone here me?!" I shouted into the darkness, which was met with silence, not even an echo reverberated from my voice. A few more seconds went by in complete stillness, then a subtle breeze started whooshing over my face. Off in the distance I saw what looked like purple black clouds of gas rolling towards me. As the distance closed, I noticed the massive volume of lightning arcing within the gas.

"Aww shit." I muttered just before the gas enveloped me. Fully expecting multiple lightning strikes, I was quite surprised to find only flashes of white light on the other side of my eyelids. The sound of air passing by my ears increased in volume, reaching the intensity painful to my ears

"What could possibly-" I thought while opening my eyes, to see rapidly approaching dirt. Despite the attempts to deploy the wingsuit, I impacted the dirt with a very loud thud.

"Ooww... Dammit, John!" I squawked while slowly standing up. As I did this, my whole body ached and rebelled at any movements I forced it to carry out. All around me was forest, sparsely packed, but forest nonetheless. I just happened to have landed in the middle of a large oval shape clearing filled with thrashing tall-grass and white flowers. The source of all the movement was a gigantic, lightless sphere looming overhead; Just at the edges of the anomaly, all light seemed to distort slightly around the sphere.

"I guess it's one more small fall for man, and one giant leap for asshole kind." I said while rubbing my head from the pain. Once I regained full balance, I moved away from the sphere in preparation for the other two Support pods to come through. As if waiting for me, just as I was out of the way, the first pod came through and activated its maneuvering thrusters to stop it from falling to the ground; Once the pod leveled out, it hovered in place. Remembering that the second one was coming through shortly after, I pushed the pod away from the Wormhole with little effort due to the pulse detonation engines doing all the work. Once it was sufficiently out of the way, I activated the pods landing sequence via the control panel. Just as the landing gear touched the ground, the other pod, a communication relay, dropped from the sphere.

My mind pulled a total blank as the mulit-tonn rectangular prism failed to activate its Pulse Detonation engines, falling to the ground, below with a unceremonious thud. "Yep, figured something would break." I thought while walking to the communications relay. I really didn't care if it was broken at this point as long as the Quantum entangled storage drive was still intact; That would be the one thing I couldn't fix, however, I could still use the Light speed data encoding system as a backup, my messages would just take thirty-thousand years to reach Humanity.

"Well isn't this a pickle." I said with by hands on my hips. Sitting in front of me was a multi ton sea container buried halfway into the dirt, and while I had done a visual inspection of the internals, I was still uncertain that the delicate electronics were damaged. According to the half buried control screen, the system check would take between fifteen and forty-five minutes to complete; With that in mind, I decided to start the Security Stations diagnostics even though the smallest of discrepancies in the code would most likely cause a catastrophic navigation failure. I would be quite capable to defend myself from any wildlife in the surrounding forest, so I decided to retrieve a few pieces of equipment to see what was edible and what wasn't.

On the short walk around my new home, I noticed how nice the location I was placed in really was; I noticed the flowers and tall grass before, but I was a bit preoccupied with giant, falling rectangles. Despite how nice everything was, I still kept the retinal tracking Beam Lasers on my wingsuit deployed just in case; On plantes past, I encountered a most beautiful plant, almost like a giant tulip. I also remember one of the men in my battalion touching the flower and it eating him whole seconds later.

Every time I stuck the analysis probe into a tree, I also had my thumb on the fire button for my lasers. Slowly but surely, I determined chemical makeup, atmosphere composition, gravitation pull, and all the other necessary things to live on an alien planet. It turned out John wasn't that far of on the whole Raxxla theory, as the planet had the enhanced oxygen content, and a slightly lower gravity of point ninety-nine. I was still trying to get a complete reading on the oxygen while I made my third and most expansive loiter around my camp.

"Seems like the air pressure is a few times more and the oxygen saturation is..." I started to say while tapping on the display. "Come on stupid thing, you've only been reading the air for five minutes." I grumbled while shaking the atmospheric meter. "Finally...two times pressure, three times saturation.. So it's like I'm in a giant hyperbaric chamber." I said while smiling at the possibilities of what I could do under these conditions. But then again, that would mean most other wildlife would be just as strong, if not stronger. Continuing my stroll even further around the perimeter of my new home, all of the Flora I walked by looked just like what existed on Earth, and once I saw what looked just like a Blue Jay, I started to wonder if I was just transported to earth, maybe Mars since it has the same wildlife.

"Am I just on Earth? No... it can't be, The air is to amazing. I suppose they could have started another one of those planetary recovery programs." I said while contemplating my true location. It was quite possible after all, Earth had a population limit these days, and most of the planet was left wild.

Concluding my fifteen minute stroll around the forest, I had seen a variety of normal looking animals and plants. Nothing that would indicate I was in for a rough ride. I still wondered where all the larger creatures were, although that would have to wait, as I had returned from my excursion. Upon reaching the Security station, I found a green bar reading. 'System check complete. No issues found.'

I was relieved to see that everything was in working order, so I made my way to the communications station, and as I was getting close, I heard a voice coming from the console.

"System check complete. Test fire activated."

"Test fire. *Sigh* Wonderful... Why does the computer have to be English accented like everything else? Like seriously, couldn't they at least make an option?" I asked with irritation; Every single piece of equipment was that stupid accent.

When I reached the partially buried control screen, I saw a blue bar that read 'Charging' stretching across the screen. The further the bar inched, the louder the humming sound emanated from the communications relay; All my attempts to shut down the test fire were met with an 'Invalid ID' pop up message. Once the bar reached capacity, a massive beam of violet light fired from the dish mounted on the relay. The sound emanated was making a sound so loud by this time, I had to cover my ears even with the adaptive hearing protection in my ears. After about fifteen seconds of the light shooting off into space, the relay powered down and the beam disappeared.

"Well then…that was...interesting. Now to get this thing out of the dirt." I said while resting my hand on my chin with my index finger and thumb going up each side of my face.

* * *

-=Unknown Pov=-

"NICK, will you stop playing with the Window?" A female voice asked irritably.

"But I'm bored." Nick replied in a whine.

"NIIIICK."

"Fine, I'll stop. . . . . Can we at least pull over for a few minutes?" He asked with a glance to the driver.

"No, we pulled over fifteen minutes ago, and you went to the bathroom then, so don't think saying I have to pee will work." She said while pointing an accusing finger at Nick.

"You wound me Carrots. I would never say a thing like that." He replied while holding a hand up to his heart in an attempt to act hurt.

"Uh-huh, let's see. The last time you said that was... three days ago. YOU didn't want to go to Sahara Square."

"Fine fine, but can you blame me. It's always over a hundred during the day and freezing at night." He replied while weighing his hands back and forth.

"Nick that's what jackets are for. . . Nick are you listening."

"Carrots, pull over." Nick mumbled in an awestruck tone.

"Nick, I'm not pulling over until we get to my parents house."

"Judy, pull over." He said said more urgently.

"Nick, there better be a life or death reason for this." She replied with irritation. Judy pulled the car over, and Nick Stepped out to get a better look at the sky. Judy immediately followed suit, and stomped to the passenger side of the car so she could chew her friend out. The moment she looked towards Nick's direction, all anger washed away.

"Have you ever seen anything like it?" Nick asked with awe.

"No." Judy replied quietly.

"Maybe one of your relatives went mad and is trying to, oof." Nick Started to say while snickering, but was interrupted by an elbow to the gut from Judy.

"That's not funny." She replied with an unamused tone.

"Sorry Carrots but it was just too hard not to, but onto a serious note; Any idea what it is?"

"Are you saying you can be serious?" Judy asked while holding her hips and raising an eyebrow. Just as she finished her sentence, the beam of light disappeared.

"Very funny."

"We should call the chief and let him know."

"Orrr, now hear me out. We could just pretend we didn't see it, and not have to walk a mile into the forest, what do ya say?" Nick asked while holding out his hand for a handshake.

"You're so predictable, ya-know that." She replied while pulling out her phone.

"Hello, this is Clawhauser speaking."

"Clawhauser, can you put me through to the chief?"

"Course Judy. Are you in Bunnburrow yet?"

"No, I'll explain it when we get back."

"Okay, well tell Nick I said hi."

"Sure thing buddy." With that the dispatcher put Judy on hold for the chief.

"Clawhauser says hi." Judy whispered as she covered the microphone, to which Nick rolled his eyes.

"Bogo's office."

"Hi chief, it's Judy."

"Are you calling to let me know that you're in Bunnyburrow."

"Not...exactly."

"Hopps, I told you not to call until you there. Now I have a situation to deal with, so make it fast."

"Well, Nick and I were driving when Nick saw something off the side of the road, annnd-"

"Spit..It..Out." Bogo interrupted with impatience.

"Umm, well, Nick and I saw a giant laser shoot into the sky, Sir."

"Good, you saw it too." He said in a falsetto voice. "Along with half the city. I want you and officer Wilde to investigate. We believe it may be a science experiment gone wrong."

"Yes sir, we'll report what we find."

"Hopps, don't go in careless, we have no idea what this really is, and I don't want some of the city's best officers to get killed."

"Got it sir well be careful, Hopps out."

"let me guess; Go up the hill and into the forest, oh and don't die well doing it." Nick quipped with a half lidded smile.

"You are such a child sometimes. It's our job." Judy replied.

"You wound me deeply Carrots." He said, once again holding a hand up to his heart. After a few seconds, Nick walked to the back of the vehicle and opened the trunk.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm not getting killed from this, Officer Fluff." He answered while pulling out a ballistic vest.

"You've gotta be joking." Judy whispered.

After almost two hours of hiking through the woods, The duo realized how far away the beam of light really was. What would've been a pleasant walk through the forest under normal circumstances turned into a painstaking task of walking up a twenty degree incline almost the entire time.

"Carrots….can...we...please…stop?" Nick Asked between exhausted breaths. How his partner hadn't even began to seem tired was beyond him.

"Okay, I suppose it's time for a break." Judy replied casually. Hearing this, Nick instantly fell to the ground with a thud from exhaustion.

"Nick, how can you be this tired, we've only been walking for two hours?"

"Because...I'm...wearing..this vest" He said in between gasps of air.

"Well maybe you shouldn't have taken it."

"When we… start getting… shot at… you'll wish… you brought yours."

"We don't even know what we are going to find. For all we know maybe someone's hurt from whatever happened."

"Whatever... you say, Carrots."

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

Now that I had gotten the communications relay working again, and I managed to un-bury it with the landing gear's pistons, I decided to set it up right next to the security pod in juxtapose. Upon starting the thunderous engines, they made the distinctive PDE braaapp, which caused my chest to vibrate with each of the staggered detonations. By the time I was finished moving and setting up the relay, I noticed the sun was starting to move toward the horizon.

"I guess I'll get out my sleeping gear."

Once I reached the security pod, I opened one of the side doors, and the entire twenty foot long wall flipped up. Inside was a white lit back-light illuminating through the wall; This side of the pod was divided into four equal sections, medical, weapons, food, and miscellaneous. The medical section was to the very left, containing multiple drawers, an EKG readout, defibrillators, various types of bandages and other items. The Weapons section housed two locker like containers on each side of the divider. Inbetween laid several rifles, varying in purpose. To the right of that was the food section, containing an electromagnetic induction stove, fridge/freezer, and a pantry. The very right divider was the miscellaneous section, which contained clothes, sleeping gear, scientific equipment, and a few other things.

After pulling out the sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and tent. I stood for a moment holding the tent, deliberating if I should even bother with it.

"I think I'll sleep on the security pod, just in case of animals" I thought while shoving the tent back into it's designated position. After blowing up the air pad, and laying it and the sleeping bag on the top of the pod. I realized I had forgotten to make the message saying I arrived at my destination safely.

"Here we go. This is Admiral Elliot Crawford reporting from...wherever I happen to be. The wormhole worked, and I made it through safely. The security Station deployed it's thrusters and caught it's self from falling the ten or so meters to the ground, but-"

* * *

-=Unknown Pov=-

"Nick, stay low, I hear a voice ahead."

"I don't hear anything."

"It's a few hundred yards away."

After hearing what Judy said, Nick stood up from his lowered position while looking at Judy with a mildly irritated face, one of his ears twitching ever so slightly. "Carrots, just because we can't find anything doesn't mean you should lie about hearing a voice. Besides, if we don't turn back now, we'll never make it back to the car before It's dark." He said with crossed arms.

"I'm not lying, I really do here someone up there. I just can't make out what they're saying."

"Carrots, I'm not falling for it." Nick replied with a firm tone.

"How about this? If I'm wrong in the next hundred yards, we'll turn around."

"...Fine." Nick said just before the two pressed further into the forest.

"Okay, I can hear what he's saying now."

"Well what's he saying, oh great one?" Nick asked while getting on his knees and bowing to Judy. Her responded with a glare that made Nick gulp.

"It's definitely a male, He's talking about some part of something is damaged."

"Well can you hear him or not?"

"I need to get a little bit closer."

The two off duty officers made their way closer to the sound of the voice. By this time, Nick could also hear sounds of talking through the trees and undergrowth of the forest, but couldn't make out any words.

"I can hear him now." Judy said once they were a few meters away.

"He's saying that he managed to fix a thruster and move a communications thing somewhere."

"That doesn't sound good." Nick replied worry.

"Shh… He's saying sorry for being late on recording a message..."

"What's he saying now?"

"He stopped talking. I still can't see him, how about you?"

"...I can't see anything either."

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

"Ehh could've done it better, but it got the situation across." I thought while pressing the digital transmit button on the Liquid crystal computer display. Once I confirmed the action, the Large dish on to of the Communications station started to gimball to one direction.

"Aligning, please stand by." The computer said in its English Accent.

"Ohh, well we're at it. Would you like some tea and crumpets with that radio broadcast?" I said in a terrible English accent while rocking my head back and forth. Damn, that get's to me quick. Since the relay could take days to locate and slingshot the message to Wolf 1061-D, I decided to go get an M.R.E from the security pod. The instant I turned away from the Control panel, and I mean the absolute instant i turned away, it started humming. Realizing what was about to happen, I covered my ears and prepared for the loud blast that was imminent.

* * *

-=Unknown Pov=-

"What's that noise?"

"Nick do you really expect me to answer that."

"I dunno, I thought maybe you would know. It kinda sounds like a power station."

"We need to see what's happening, let's go… Nick let's go."

"Huh, sorry. I was Just thinking."

"Is that a first for Nick Wilde?" Judy asked with a smirk.

"Har har, very funny Carrots. I was thinking, what if it's an alien?"

"Really, you think it's an alien? She asked with an en eyebrow raised.

"Maybe?" Nick said with uncertainty. The duo was now nearing what was making the noise, and they could see the meadow from their vantage point. Judy being the diligent police officer she was, pulled out her phone and started recording the whole thing, just in case.

"Wow, What...is...that?" Judy asked with amazement while looking at the two rectangular prisms sitting smack in the middle of the field.

"How should I know. Whatever it is it's getting really loud. Judy, I think we should-" Nick was interrupted as the communications pod fired the video message into space. The result was both Nick and Judy were covering their ears due to the intensity of the noise.

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

"Shit." I said with a slight scour. I forgot to turn off dual transmission, which caused the backup light speed transmitter to fire with the ansible portion of the system. I suppose in forty-thousand years, someone can see my stupidity.

It was now late in the evening, and I had worked up an appetite. As I opened the M.R.E previously retrieved from the the Security station, I heard noise in the brush just five or ten meters behind me. Due to my training, I instinctively unholstered my sidearm and held it at the low ready position.

"Maybe there is an animal in the brush...Naaw, no animal would stay here after hearing that." I thought while stowing the weapon in the Wingsuit's right handed draw holster. With my meal in hand, I proceeded to sit in the dirt, absentmindedly chewing away at the sustenance while contemplating what to do tomorrow.

"I could fly around and see if there's a river near by. Oh man, I forgot to see if my suit was damaged. . . I suppose I have an hour or so to test it before it gets dark." I said in contemplation of testing my equipment.

Upon finishing the almost tasteless meal, I made my way to the largest portion of the clearing that was available to do the pre-flight checks, although I was fairly confident that my equipment was in working order, better safe than sorry.

* * *

-=Unknown Pov=-

"That was loud." Nick said as he rubbed his ears.

"Ahhhh, it feels like my ears are going to explode." Judy said in agony.

"I hope Judy's okay, that must have been really loud for her sensitive hearing. Are you okay?...Judy are you okay?"

"Ya, I'm fine." Judy reassured with a hand gesture.

"Are you sure, I know your ears are way more sensitive than mine."

"I'll be fine... I dropped my phone, and I couldn't record what happened." She said while continuing to hold her ears.

"Don't worry about it." Nick said in a reassuring tone. Once their hearing was restored, Judy retrieved the phone to resume recording. "I don't see anyone up there; Do you think it's automatic?"

"Don't you mean anything." Nick replied.

"This isn't the time Nick."

"Oh c'mon, Carrots. Look at it and tell me you've seen something like that before." Nick said while crossing his arms.

"Okay, I've see something just like this when….umm….Fine. I haven't seen anything like this before." She mumbled in defeat.

"Carrots Shh, I see something moving on the other side of the… thing." Nick hushed while staring intently at what was about to round the corner. "What. . Is that?"

* * *

 **A/N: _I'll admit I'm being lazy with the revisions, but its soooo boring._**

 ** _UPDATE 4/8/17_**


	3. Chapter 3: Making friends

Chapter Three

The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again.

* * *

"What. . Is that?" Judy asked with immense wonder.

"I bet it's an alien." Nick replied.

"He isn't an alien."

"I'll bet you five bucks he is an alien."

"You're on." Judy said while shaking Nick's hand.

As the two continued talking, the man touched his arm and wings unfurled from his back.

"What were you saying?" Nick asked while thumbing at the six foot wings.

"Okay, maybe you're. . .No-no-no, look they're mechanical. I'm going to go say hello."

"Are you crazy, what if it thinks your dinner. I mean look at it.… Wait, Where'd he go?" Nick asked with befuddlement as to where the creature disappeared to. "Do you think he flew away?"

"No, I would have heard it."

"I suppose you would with those cute ears-OW! Okay-okay, you win." Nick winced out while rubbing his shoulder.

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

"Q.R.F field's working, that's good because I wouldn't have been able to fix it. Now, onto the shield, lasers, and engines . . . Hmm, I'll do the engines." I concluded while pressing a button on the display panel mounted to my right arm. Only moments later, a relatively quiet whirring sound emanated from my pack; Once I twisted the throttle, the quiet sound was replaced with the screeching of four polyphase electric turbines spinning at five-hundred thousand RPM. I began to lift off the ground a few feet without issue, however, just when I was going to let off the throttle, the turbines lost all power and I fell to the ground.

"*Sigh*. . . Shit." I cursed with irritation due to half my equipment failing to work. I continued rambling about what could've gone wrong with the turbines, eventually deciding that I would finish all tests before disassembling the complex machine. The blue, bubble shield encapsulated my figure for a second or two before turning completely transparent. To test its deflection properties, I tossed a large rock in the air, and stood under it; Not the smartest decision in hindsight. Thankfully, the rock impacted the shield, causing a temporary ripple along it's surface. Upon disabling the functional energy barricade, I moved onto my main weaponry; The two, retinal tracking, variable wavelength beam lasers.

A tap and swipe to my control screen later, and the weaponry deployed from my back. As I looked up to the weapons, They gimballed towards each other in an attempt to aim at my visionary focus. "looks like the tracking is good. Now to find a target." I thought while looking away from the lasers. After some deliberation, I decided on a tree across the meadow.

"Fire mode, stun." I commanded. " Let's not burn down the forest Shall we."

The computer responded an auditory confirmation, prompting my stance to angle ever so slightly, and my thumb to rest over the fire button integrated into the arm mounted control panel.

* * *

-=Unknown Pov=-

"Nick, hold the phone for me, you're taller."

"I'm sure you can record just fine from your height. Besides, I'm watching." Nick said with a dismissal wave.

"JC'mon, just hold it for me." Judy responded with vexation

"Fine… Did you see where he came from? It was like he just vanished." Nick asked while holding the phone at head level.

"No, but I'm going to ask him where he got all this stuff. Half if it's defiantly illegal." Judy stated matter-of-factly as she started traipsing towards the unidentified man.

"No! We don't know what it's capable of." Nick blurted as he shot out to pull Judy back into the cover of their brushline.

"Well we won't find out just sitting here." Judy hissed as she jerked away from Nick's grasp. Just after finishing her sentence, the man shot two orangish yellow beams into something out of view. Despite the befuddlement and anxiety of both officers, they were calm and ready on the surface… mostly.

"Judy, look at what just happened, whatever that is, it just shot something. If I hadn't stopped you, he could have killed you." Nick scolded.

Realizing her mistake, Judy started to sulk as she re-positioned herself behind a shrub. "Sorry… I should have listened." She mumbled.

"I know you're just excited to meet and arrest whoever that is, but we're outmatched on this one… If we waited until he went to sleep-"

"We could get the drop on him. OOOOH, Nick!" Judy hush squealed with a slug to her friends shoulder. With a plan formed, the duo set up for the long haul, eventually laying on their stomachs halfway into the bush as to see the man without exerting much energy. After a few minutes of said target of interest pacing around the meadow, he picked up a small rock, and tossed it in the air a few times.

"What's he doing?" Judy asked while shifting ever so slightly forward.

"I don't know." Nick replied with a shrug.

"Zoom in on him." She ordered while reaching for the phone now propped up on a few sticks they rammed into the dirt.

"All that does is make it blurry." Nick replied as he deflected Judy's hand from the electronic device.

"Really?"

"Everyone knows that." He replied just as the man threw the rock up in the air, incinerating it with the beams of light.

"WHOA!"

"Nick are you trying to get us caught!" Judy scolded in a hushed yell.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say it that loud." He replied in a panicked worry.

"Ugh… Just be more careful next time." Judy reprimanded with a scowl.

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

"Well, at least it's just the. . ." I trailed off from the sound of what resembled movement to my rear. Better safe than sorry, right? "Hello, is there someone out there!" I yelled into the woods, only finding silence as my response. As a subconscious action, I started inching forward after retracting the pack mounted lasers.

"Hello… is anyone out there! I promise I would start a war with you! " Once again I found no response. "*Sigh*… I must be experiencing side effects from the atmospheric difference." I mumbled while turning around. Just as I started to walk away, I heard an almost inaudible rustling at the treeline. This caused me to whip about, and leer suspiciously at the bush of interest as I padded closer, albeit cautiously, and with my hand rested on my sidearm. Once the correct angle was achieved, I saw a shimmer of light within the shrubbery. "Is that, metal?" I asked just as the shimmer disappeared, followed by breathing that was picking up in pace.

"Shimmer of light, rustling leaves, breathing, Shhhhiiit!" I squawked while doing a back roll as to increase distance. Thinking I'd just spotted some kind of predator that was stalking me, When I came up from the roll, my FN-103 was drawn, and the lasers were rapidly deployed.

"Fire mode, Kill!" The computer confirmed my command, and the lasers trained on the shrub I was looking at.

"Fuck off." I said under my breath.

* * *

-=Unknown Pov=-

"Carrots I think it's time to go, don't you?" Nick asked with terror.

"I would agree, but look at what he's doing."

"I see it, it's pointing those lasers right at us, which to remind you. WE DON'T HAVE."

"Not that, did you hear his reaction? He was scared."

"Carrots, now's not the time." Nick chastised while trying to pull her away.

"English… Maybe they did start another atmospheric restoration. Hello, If you're an intelligent creature that speaks this dialect, please say something! I'd rather not shoot you."

"Look, he doesn't want to hurt us."

"Or, he's just trying to bait us."

"Come on, just trust my judgment for once."

"*Sigh* Okay Carrots, it's up to you." Nick gave in with hopelessness.

"Kay, here goes. Don't shoot, were unarmed!"

"English….I guess the portal only kinda worked. What's your allegiance!?" The creature mumbled to himself before shouting as for the duo to hear.

"What do we say?" Judy asked.

"Go with neutral, always go with neutral." Nick answered as he nodded his head furiously.

"Were Neutral!"

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

"Roger that! I'm with the Federation, so you can relax! I'm not going to shoot you, but would you be kind enough to come out so I can see you." I said while retracting the lasers and wings, although, I kept the pistol drawn and my finger over the shield button as a precautionary measure.

"What do you think, Nick?" The female in the group asked quietly.

"I think it's too late to do anything else." The one I presumed to be Nick answered hopelessly. This was a clear red flag, if they were neutral, why would either of them be worried about me?

"Okay, we're coming out!" Judy shouted while the two walked out from the other side of the bush.

"Uhh….. The fuck?" I asked as I took the safety off my handgun; I was standing in front of the two strangers, shocked that they were a fox and a rabbit. The fox was about thirty-six inches tall, and it wore what looked like an archaic bullet resistant vest with a green shirt underneath. The rabbit was maybe twenty-three inches tall excluding its ears; It was wearing a dark blue shirt with black pants, although wore no vest. Both animals were standing upright.

"Hi, my name's Judy and this is Nick. What's your name?"

"Heh-heh. This is a joke right." I replied with a giggle. "Very funny guys!" I shouted, thinking that the whole thing was a birthday prank. If you think it was beyond my subordinates, you clearly haven't been to the Wolf system; Last year, everyone filled my private vulture with a rapid deployment entrenching foam, which hardened in about five minutes and reached the strength of titanium alloy.

"I don't follow." The rabbit replied.

"Okay, you guys got me. It did freak me out a little bit!" I yelled, thinking there was a drone watching me from a few hundred meters away.

"What are you talking about? Better yet, don't get near me, I'd like to keep my fur on me thank you very much." The Fox as he back-stepped a few times.

"Okay guys; It was funny for a few seconds, but they're starting to freak me out!"

"Who are you yelling at?" The rabbit asked while glancing in the surrounding area.

"Alright, I've had enough. Authentication code, Alpha-Alpha-Kilo-Two-Five-Bravo-Charlie-X-ray-Zulu-One-One-Eight-Nine. Commence emergency shutdown protocol eight." To my dismay, nothing happened as the two continued to look at me with worrisome faces.

"What was that suppose to do?" Nick asked with slight hints of fear. Upon hearing this, I looked a bit closer at the two, and observed clear rising and falling of their chests. Realizing that they were in fact not robots, I began to think of what else they could be. Bio-droids, clones with a twist, anything was possible nowadays.

"So, that was weird, But moving on. What's your name?" The chipper rabbit asked.

"My...name… right. My name is Elliot. Shit, that MRE must have leaked." I said while whipping around. I wasn't on any known planet, I could see that from the constellations starting to pop up here and there. Maybe the retired president only caught a glimpse of what was here; This place was heaven like as far as atmospheric conditions went, however, how long was she actually on the planet if this was indeed the correct one?

"Hi Elliot, it's nice to meet. .you. . . . Where are you going?"

"Just ignore it. Animals don't talk." I whispered as I kept walking towards the security station."

"Hey, It's rude to walk away from someone in the middle of a conversation." The rabbit said as she caught up to me.

"Just ignore it. Just ignore it. Just, uhh, you look so real." I muttered with a brief glance towards the two foot Rabbit.

"Are you okay?" The fox asked from my left side.

"Okay, figure out what chemicals were in the MRE, and figure out how long this lasts. Yep, that's the plan." I said with adamance to not look down.

"Did you get poisoned? Is that why you acting this way?" The rabbit asked.

"Jussstt, stop talking. You're just a figment of my imagination." I said while holstering the pistol, enabling me to swing up the side of the security station, and retrieve my disposed trash.

"Whoa, that's cool." The fox said.

"Nick, I think something's seriously wrong with him." The rabbit said.

"Well, it's not our problem." The fox replied.

"Actually, it is considering you're a hallucination of my mind." I interrupted while tapping my head.

"Listen, I don't know what you are, but you need to let us help you."

"What, by giving me cotton candy and taking a magical rainbow right off a cliff. . . PASS." I said while reading the wrapper of the MRE.

"I think he's fried Carrots." The fox said while pointing at me with a thumb.

"HA, rabbits can't eat carrots in excess or they'll die from the sugar content. . . Okay magnesium heater, that won't cause this... I don't think."

"Hey, Look at me!" That rabbit yelled.

"HELL...no, I don't need to indulge the crazy's in my head right now." I noticed the rabbit getting close to my leg but ignored it. Until she punched me.

"We're not a hallucination!"

"You'll have to do better than that, because they can cause pain."

"Can they make you bleed?" the fox asked.

"NICK!"

"No, they can't." I replied.

"Then come here." He said while unsheathing a small knife.

"Nick, stop it!"

"I knew I was right. Finding a way to stop the impossible from happening. Rabbit, let him go."

"NO, He's Not going to stab you!" She yelled.

"I wasn't going to stab him. Just a slash."

"Here give me the knife." I said holding out a hand.

"No way." The fox replied while pulling the knife closer to his body.

"Then cut my arm." I said as I moved closer while pulling my sleeve up.

"Nick pl-please don't." The Rabbit whimpered out as tears filled her eyes.

"You should know that conveying emotion won't work. After all, you're me." I said while standing up and turning back to the MRE package. After a few seconds, one of the hallucinations started messing with my pant leg, and shortly thereafter, I felt a sharp feeling on my calf. When looked back, the Fox had a bloodied knife and my leg was cut open.

"There, you believe me now?" The fox asked.

"Well it hurts like a knife wound. But let me test the blood." I replied while reaching down to the back of my oozing calf muscle. Once I had a fair amount of blood on my finger, I took it to the first aid compartment and input the blood for analysis.

"Well look at that. I guess you really are real." I said as I applied a small amount of bio-foam to my wound.

"Told you." He said.

Once the healing foam bonded to my skin, effectively sealing the wound and numbing the pain. I disarmed the fox by grabbing his wrist and folding it inward while shoving his chest with the other hand. This caused him to fall backward and me to acquire the small bloodied knife.

"So. Who are you, and how advanced is your planet?" I asked calmly as I inspected the stiletto looking knife.

"Who do you think you are!?" The Rabbit yelled as she aided the fox in standing.

"Well I think I'm an explorer that was just knifed by a fox that can talk. But to be fair, I did ask you to do it."

"How'd you do that thing with your paws to disarm me?" The fox asked, not seeming the slightest bit offended by my disarming of his weapon.

"I'll tell you once I get my question answered. How advanced is your Planet?"

"Were way more advanced than you!" The rabbit yelled while pointing an accusing finger at me.

"So why then is the fox wearing a ballistic protection vest that looks like it's from a thousand years ago, and carrying a bladed knife instead of a plasma one like this." I said while calmly pulling out my knife, turning it on to reveal purple plasma arcing across the blade side edge.

"Because I want to."

"NO. Because you're lying to me. . . Sigh...Let's start over. My name is Elliot." I said as I cleaned the knife on a rag, followed by handing the small weapon back to the Fox.

"Uhh. . . Okay, my name is Judy." The rabbit said.

"Fox. . your name?"

"I'm not sure I want to tell you." He replied in a snarky tone.

"I'm trying to be nice, and this isn't a very good contribution on your part."

"Fine, my Name's Wilde, Nick Wilde." The fox said while shaking the hand I held out.

"Ha, that reminds me of a line in a movie." I replied.

"So, what are you?" Judy asked as I started taking off the six point harness to my Wingsuit.

"I'm a human from a planet We call Wolf ten-sixty-one C. Clarify if I'm wrong, but you." Pointing at Nick. "look like a Vulpes vulpes…And you." Now pointing at Judy. "look like a Sylvilagus floridanus."

"What did you just call us?" Nick asked with Indignance.

"Nick relax. Very impressive that you know our genus and species." Judy said.

"Oh, that's what that was."

"Yep. I said you were a Red Fox and she's a Cottontail rabbit." I said while pulling at the straps of my wingsuit. Once the pack was off my body, I sat under the light of the Open security pod, and started disassembling the advanced equipment. "You don't look right though."

"What do you mean?" Judy asked.

"You look just like species on . . . . nevermind. but your bone structure's way off."

"What were you going to say?" Judy asked.

"You look like animals from where I'm from."

"So where are you from then?" She asked.

"Uh, well, I already told you, but It's not important."

"Come on, you can say it." Judy said with a tiny step forwards.

"You look like a weird genetic experiment from Earth, our homeworld. We have creatures the look very similar to you, and it appears the senator really did have a vision of this place as far as it's beauty goes, maybe not the whole hyper-intelligent beings part."

"So, you're saying that you're an alien?" Judy asked with a cautious step backwards.

"Affirmative, Madam . I'm actually an alien to my homeworld. I was born on Wolf 1061-c And moved to Earth when I was born."

"This is hard to believe. . . but, could you tell us more about Earth?" Nick asked as he sat a few feet in front of me.

"You don't have to be scared of me." I said looking up at his slightly tucked tail.

"I'm not scared." Nick replied hastily

"I was talking to Judy, she's been inching away from me for the last minute. But since you brought it up, I imagine you've learned to hide emotion, because you do it well." I smiled at him. "Well, My homeworld scientific name is SOL-3."

"Where's that?"

"It's in the Orion spur."

"Okay, I don't know where that is. Where are we in relation to Sool."

"You don't need to answer that, my friend can be a bit prying sometimes." Judy interjected in an attempt to change the subject.

"Oh, it's quite alright. Its Sol by the way. We're in the tale of the Norma arm. It's about forty five thousand light years away from my planet."

"That confirms it, Carrots. I will expected to be paid in full." Nick said while holding out one of his hands.

"Fine." Judy grumbled while handing Nick a piece of paper.

"Were you making a bet on me?" I asked, not fully understanding what the paper was.

"Yup, the bet was to see if you're an alien or not, and I won." Nick said as he smiled. I nodded in understanding, although I had no clue as to what the piece of paper was. Surely such an item wouldn't be worth very much, so what was it's purpose. I pondered the concept of what the paper was as I tore through every facet of my wingsuit in searches for the thruster malfunction. Eventually, I realized the paper must be some kind of represented value currency, even though it held no real value.

"Figures." I mumbled upon opening the air compression chamber on the intake.

"Huh?" Nick asked while looking at the white lit inside of the security station.

"There was just some dirt stuck in the filter."

"Ahh. . . So what are you doing here, and what is all this stuff?" Judy asked as she waived at the two sea containers.

"I'm here on a mission to test some new transportation and communications equipment. But now it's turned into a diplomatic escapade." I replied while pulling bits of dirt and grass out of the intake.

"So, how long's your mission?" Nick asked while looking at the weapons section of the security station.

"It's. . . So how did you find me?" I asked in an attempt to deflect the question.

"We saw a big laser shoot into the air from the road." Nick replied as hone of his hands reached out for a rife.

"If you touch one of those, I'll be forced to treat you a hostile." I warned without even looking in the fox's direction.

"Oh sorry, I'm curious sometimes." Nick replied while rubbing his paw.

"Curious or not, you're still a stranger and an alien species. The last species we encountered caused a war of immeasurable scale."

"Really? What were they called?" Judy asked.

"Stonewalls." I replied in a mundane tone while picking the various pieces of debris out of the engines.

"That's an odd name." She replied.

"Carrots, he's saying stonewall, as in stone wall, I'm not telling you." Nick informed, causing a small chortle to escape my mouth.

"HEY!" Judy squawked just before the meadow was sent into silence due to lack of conversation material. Personally I would've stuck with silently working away, however, I suppose the universe had other plans.

"What was the laser we saw that came out of this? And why was it purple?" Judy asked

"It's an encoded beam of light used to send a message. The reason for it being purple is because that carries the most energy of the visible light spectrum." I answered as Nick started edging closer to the line of weaponry inside the security station. "Last warning, Alepoú." I sternly ordered while pointing my handgun at Nick's chest, finger taking up the slack on the two stage trigger. "Do not touch the rifles."

"I can't help it, this thing's super cool." Nick replied as he pointed to one of the suppressed carbines.

"Is it worth your life?" I asked just before flicking on a green laser, which pointed directly at his heart… that is, if his heart was located in the same spot as mine.

"N-no."

"Then keep a body's distance away from them at all times." I said, earning the fox to withdraw from the weapons section. "Now, If you insist on seeing the rifle, I will show it to you once I'm done here."

"I'd rather see that." Judy said just before poking the wingsuit.

"I'll let you two decide on that, But you only get to see one." I replied as I reassembled the intake of the wingsuit.

The two briefly gazed at each other before wandering a few meters away as to confer with each other, presumably about what weapon to see. This allowed me to better study the creatures inhabiting this world; The two were so close to what an Earth counterpart would look like, almost as if someone played genetic splicing. They had animals paws, yet one of the digits was opposing, and judging by the reverse bends in both of their legs, they could easily navigate on all fours. This got me thinking, was it more efficient for them to be on two legs, or four? During the investigation of my acquaintances anatomy, I was simultaneously reassembling my EXO-35, and by the time they turned around, the pack was completely reassembled.

"Yeah, we want to see the gun." Judy said upon facing me.

"Okay." I replied while picking up the suppressed carbine from earlier. "This is an Ar-335-"

"No, not that gun, the really big one." Nick interrupted while pointing to the large rifle hanging on the ceiling.

"Heh, of course" I whispered with a shake of my head. "….Okay, this is the Rorsch X18. It's an anti tank rifle, and I'm not sure why it's in here since the most I was supposed to encounter was wildlife." I said while unhooking the Railgun from its mounting position. Once I knelt and held the anti-material rifle up at Judy's eye level, she ran her tiny paws along the Helical coils of the rail.

"How does it work?" She asked

"It uses a triple helix magnetic coil to shoot a twenty by two-hundred millimeter projectile at two point four kilometers per second."

"Uhhhh." Nick said while his mouth gaped slightly.

"Pretty cool, right. It can fire high explosive, Armor Piercing, Armor Piercing Discarding Sabot, and High Explosive Anti Tank rounds or HE, AP, APDS, and HEAT for short. Just a side note, the APDS rounds shrink the diameter down two eight millimeters for better penetration."

"Sooo cool." Nick said; I could almost see the drool coming off his mouth.

"Can you shoot it?" Judy asked, seeming less afraid of me than a few minutes ago.

"I suppose so, you'll need to plug your ears." I said while looking for ammo for the munitions system.

"That's fine as long as you give us warning." Judy said as I retrieved a HEAT round from the weapons section. Upon loading the railgun with it's three-quarter kilogram cylinder, I took aim at a tree across the meadow. Under normal circumstances, the weapon would push me back several feet from the kinetic energy alone, however, I tuned down the coil charge to a third it's normal firing energy; Plenty enough energy to hit the target, but not enough to send me backwards.

"Ya-see the blue laser?"

"Yeah." Judy said.

"Okay watch that tree... and plug your ears."I said while looking down at the two. Seeing that they were intently watching the tree and had their ears plugged, I squeezed the trigger ever so lightly. The rifle started spooling it's capacitors from the main power cell, and once it was generating a high pitched whine, the weapon beeped that it was ready to fire. With a second squeeze of the electronic trigger, the railgun created a squeal of energy being dispersed into the superconducting coils. The munition created a highly visible vapor trail as it flew through the air well over the speed of sound. Upon impact, the HEAT shell exploded, a small shockwave was felt from its explosive potential; Once the dust settled, the tree's trunk was decimated, leaving only the leafy top and at stump.

"So what did you think?" I asked while stowing the anti-material rifle back in its compartment.

"That was amazing!" Nick exclaimed.

"Glad you liked it, because where I'm from that was about fifty credits I just shot."

"Credit?" Nick asked.

"It's our currency." I replied.

". . . Why was there a fire trail behind it?" Judy asked as I closed the wall to the pod, sending us into darkness.

"Because of the speed of the round, It lights the atmosphere on fire from the friction."

"Whoa." Both of them replied in unison.

"Yeah, this one time I used one of those to assassinate some guy from a few miles away. I would've been just fine if it weren't for that damn vapor trail." When I looked at the two, they had horrified expressions, but didn't say a word. A few minutes of awkward silence went by, and once again, I cared less that it was quiet. But a mission is a mission. "Where did you come from to find me?" I asked. By this point, we'd all sat along the wall of the closed Security station, and my thoughts of roaming around the meadow were dashed by the lack of light, and my unwillingness to get night vision glasses.

"We came from the side of the road a few miles that way. Officer fluff here just had to call it." Nick replied from my right side.

"Of course we had to call it in." Judy said from the other side of me.

"Call what in to who?"

"To call in a giant laser shooting into space to chief of police, in Zootopia." Judy answered.

"So. . . You're an enforcement officer?" I asked.

"We both are. How about you, what's with the outfit?" Nick asked.

"I'm a soldier. Figured you would know from the weapons I have."

"Ah okay. So what rank are you?" Judy asked.

"I'm an Admiral in The Galactic Federations Navy. "

"So, is that like. . . high ranking?" Nick asked with ignorance.

"I let out a small chuckle before replying. Yeah, you could say that. I'm in... I commanded over twenty-one thousand men and women." I answered

"What do you mean Commanded, as in used to?" Judy asked with concern.

"I'd rather not talk about my past... It's shaky at best." I answered while holding back my emotions.

"Hey-hey, it's okay, whatever happened it'll be okay." Judy cooed in an attempt to comfort me.

"*Exhale*...I need a walk." I said as I stood up. My intentions were to simply walk into the meadow, and lay by myself, however I found a certain rabbit trailing behind me."

"If you didn't know, it helps to talk about it."

"You're very nosy, ya-know that?" I asked with mild annoyance.

"... Sorry." She mumbled after a moment of silence.

"You want to know, well here it is. I used to command fleets from a ship called the Damocles. I was sent into an Imperial controlled solar system to make way for a federation logistics party. Once we reached the planet that was suppose to contain their heaviest resistance, it was just a few fighters and a cruiser. I instantly knew it was an ambush, that there were probably massive forces waiting to jump in from hyperspace. I tried to get another Battlecruiser to come in and help, but my CO didn't think I needed any help. After all, I'm the great Elliot Crawford, destroyer of systems. . . Anyway, I'm rambling. Three enemy Interdictors jumped in from witch-space all around my ship and we didn't stand a chance. The Hyperspace drive was on cooldown, and by the time it was back online, it was too late." I said while readjusting my hands under my head as I laid in the tall grass, staring up at my new set of constellations.

"That's not your fault." She said just before wrapping her arms around my neck, squeezing it rather tightly.

"But it is, I had the final decision. I could have overwritten the safety cool down, but I didn't and because of that, Seven-thousand people died."

"S-s-seven thousand." Judy muttered as she looked at me with her amethyst eyes. She soon went back to hugging me, and we laid in silence for a few minutes. I'd forgotten that Judy was even in my arms and when I tried to get up I realized she was still holding onto my neck.

"Judy, you awake?" I asked in a near whisper.

"Hmm. Ya I'm awake, Why?" She mumbled

"You're kinda cuddling me if you didn't notice." I whispered into her ear.

It took a good few seconds of her blankly staring at me before she realized what I said."OH MY GOSH, I'm so sorry, I just, and we." Judy stammered as she half jumped and half fell off of me. Through the darkness, I noticed her ears turning a bright shade of pink.

"Judy...Judy...JUDY! It's fine. It really did help, but we should head back."

"... But I don't really want to walk. I was all warm." Judy mumbled as her ears flopped back.

"That's fine, I can Carry you if you want."

"Uhh you don't have to, I can walk if I really have to."

"You weigh maybe ten pounds, I can carry you no problem. Besides, you seem very sleepy."

"I'll be fine." She assured. "Can we sleep here tonight?"

"Probably not, I have a tendency to kill things in my sleep."

"What!?" She screeched.

"Kidding, jeez." I said while holding up defensive hands.

"Ugh, I guess it doesn't matter where you go, even aliens have a terrible sense of humor." Judy muttered while walking in the direction of the pods. After only a few meters, she fell flat on her face. "I can see anything!" She huffed while dusting herself off.

"You have better night vision than me and I'm not tripping."

"Splain Mister." She ordered with an accusing finger.

"I have what's known as vision enhancing equipment, it's a contact lens on my eye that magnifies light.

"Hmph." She said in a high pitch tone. "Well, if you can see, then help me not run into everything."

"Okay, but remember, you asked for it." I replied moment's before hoisting the rabbit into my arms.

"Eeep. Put me down." Judy shrieked while slapping my shoulder playfully.

"You said help, this is helping. You're not going to run into anything now."

"Grrrr… fine." She mumbled with crossed arms and a squinting glare.

"You really need to work on you fake glare."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She replied with hints of a smile.

"Mhhmm, okay."

"Took you long.."

"Shhh!" Judy interrupted.

Still holding Judy, I turned on a light from the security station that was red so our night vision wasn't damaged. I then opened the pod while holding the rabbit with one arm, turning off the bright lights with the other. This was proving to be difficult, and Judy must have noticed I was having trouble because she started holding onto my neck with her fuzzy paws. After retrieving a blanket from the station, and laying it on the ground for Judy, I realized it would act as both the blanket and bed for her. The rabbit immediately pulled the blanket up to her chin, and I didn't understand why she rested her ears under her back instead of above her head, it seemed like it would be really uncomfortable laying on your ears.

"What did you two talk about?" Nick whispered as I closed the door to the security station.

"I told her what happened to me before all this." I replied while waving my hands at the stations and the landscape.

"So, what happened?" He inquired, resulting in me telling the identical story. By the time I was done, he had that same look of pity os Judy.

"That…...Sucks."

"Now you know. I want to be clear though, I don't want anyone else knowing." I snipped.

"Yeah, definitely." Nick answered with a nod. "Sooo, do you have a special ability?"

"What do you mean?" I asked. I wasn't like I could shoot lasers out of my eyes or anything, but I could hold my own in a fight to say the least.

"Well, I can see in the dark and I have a really good sense of smell."

"Oh… Well,, where I'm from the only advantage we have over animals is our intelligence."

"What do you mean by 'intelligence'?"

"Animals from my planet aren't intelligent like you and I. We can walk and talk and use technology, but they run around without clothing and use their natural perks to survive.

"That's weird. So that would mean you don't have an advantage over anyone then.

"I'm skilled in hand to hand combat, as you already know. I'm probably smarter than most people here due to how advanced my technology is, and I'm an excellent pilot of aerospace craft." As I finished my sentence I started smelling ozone in the air, prompting me to momentarily reach for a weapon until I realized this world doesn't have plasma weaponry.

"Why are you sniffing the air like that?"

"I can smell the ozone in the air. Smells like a lot of rain to me."

"You're joking, right?" Nick asked while giving me a puzzled look.

"No, I would think that you would be able to smell it way before me given your nose. I'm gonna get a tarp out, just a sec'." After unfolding the tarp at an excruciatingly slow speed in an attempt to preserve Judy's peace, I started tying it in a slanted roof over us.

"So, you can really smell the rain?"

"Yes, for the eighth time. Not all people can smell it, but I've always been able to tell."

"So, that's kinda your special ability then."

"Ehh, I guess." I replied with a shrug. We doddled on the topic of ozone for the remainder of setting the tarp up, and though I wanted to be a respective host, how could talking about ozone be so interesting to that fox?

"Hey, Nick, I'm getting tired, do you want a blanket or something before I go to bed?" I asked while taking off unnecessary clothes.

"Nah, my fur's pretty warm so I'll be fine... Can I ask you a question?" He asked hesitantly

"You just did."

"Very funny. So uhh, how come you don't have fur anywhere but your head?"

"I do, it's just very fine. Feel." I ordered while holding my right arm in front of Nick.

"I feel it, but how does it keep you warm?" He asked while gently running his paw pads across my skin.

"heh-heh, It doesn't. I don't know about you, but I cool off by emitting water from my pores. So while I can't warm up the best, I can cool off pretty well."

"That sounds nasty."

"Well, I think panting is nasty."

"Touché." He replied with a squint.

"... Do you mind if I take my shirt off?" I asked while unlacing my boots.

"As long as I can."

"Go right ahead." I said as I folded up my shirt on top of my boots as to keep them dry.

"*Gasp*… Eliot."

"Ya-Nick." I answered, fully knowing the next question he was going to ask almost word for word.

"What… what happened to you?" he asked in reference to the dozens of scars peppering my skin.

"That my friend, is a story for another time." I answered nonchalantly.

"Come on, how about just one?"

"Nope. Many have tried, and will try some more, however none shall penetrate the vault of secrets that is my mind.

"Okay then... Don't think you're getting off the hook."

"Yeah, yeah…..Don't think you're getting off the hook about being a con man." I mumbled while slipping into the sleeping bag.

"H-How did you know that?" He asked in a stupor.

"It was just a hunch, until you confirmed it for me."

"Shit... you're pretty good. Oh, afterthought; Where did you learn to hide your emotions? When you were crying, I couldn't detect the slightest waver in your voice."

"I've had oh, let's see. . . Almost three hundred years of experience, I think, maybe a little more."

"Wait. YOU LIVE THAT LONG!"

"Shut uppppppp!" Judy hissed while turning in the blanket.

"Ohh no, I'm only twenty six.." I replied, slowly but surely falling asleep. For the first time in forever, I was almost at peace with going to sleep. Something about those two was quite relaxing, almost as if they removed all sense of duty I held. Then again, it could be knowing the fact I could screw off for the rest of my life and no one in the federation could do a thing about it.

* * *

 **A/N: Updated as of 5/18/17**

 **Yeah, I know, it's been awhile**


	4. Chapter 4: Crossfire

_Chapter Four: Crossfire_

 _Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely._

* * *

"Concentrate all fire on the right ship's bridge!. . . FRAME SHIFT DRIVE, NOW!" I yelled while pointing to the helmsman.

"It's still cooling down sir!" The man replied

"Sir, Shields are at seventy percent and falling." Someone else said from inside the sealed C.I.C room.

The sounds of cannons, rail drivers, and lasers were being blasted throughout the room as well; The Ship used a sound simulation system to give further situational awareness. I could see the hundreds of impact points on the ships holographic Interments.

"They've deployed fighters, sir."

"Shields at fifty percent, sir."

"Sir, permission to use the Flamestone cannon!?" One of the G.F.C.S operators asked.

"Denied!" I replied. "Lock torpedoes on the Imperial capital ship, and fire. Target all pulse turrets on the enemy fighters, and target all Beam driver cannons with the Mk43's!" I shouted to the various officers within the bunker like room.

"Torpedoes away, sir!" Another G.F.C.S operator shouted. I studied the holographic map of the battlefield, and watched the 1,100 millimeter torpedoes launch for either side of the ship. The immediately banked toward the bow of my ship, headed towards the enemy capital ship. One by one, each and ever one of the 256 torpedoes were either intercepted by the imperial anti air, or hit by Fighters that had made a sacrifice.

"Shields at fifteen percent, sir!"

"Gaahhhh, Fire the flamestone cannon!" I shouted with reluctance.

"Aye-aye, sir!" The G.F.C.S operator in charge of gunning the prototype weapon answered. Shortly after, the ships onboard AI confirmed the Flamestone cannon was about to fire. I brought up a video feed of the super weapon mounted to the nose of the Battlecruiser glowing a bright orange around the muzzle of each barrel.

"Firing." The G.F.C.S operator stated. Just as the electronic trigger was squeezed, two imperial fighters flew right into the weapon, causing a catastrophic failure in the Flamestone cannon. This blew off a good portion of the nose on the ship, as well as taking off the forward facing thrusters completely.

"Damage report!?" I shouted.

"Major hull breach detected, hanger's one through eight are gone, and we're venting oxygen." The ships AI replied throughout the CIC room.

"Deploy damage crews, and hale the Enemy Capital ship."

"Yes sir." The AI replied. After about thirty seconds, the enemy Admiral popped up on the Holographic screen.

"Well, well, well If it isn't Elliot Crawford, the best strategist in the Galactic federation."

"We both know I saw this coming from a mile away."

"I'm sure you did, but oh poor command didn't think so. did they. You'd think they'd give you more authority." This got me thinking, why would the federation deny my request for backup. Judith's ship was nearby, and she would have been able to rectify the imbalance of friendly and enemy forces.

"You found a mole to exploit, didn't you?" I asked with suspicion.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. Now get to the point of why you have haled me."

"I would like to offer a trade of my life for the life of my crew. To ensure their safety, I will be caring a neutron bomb with me. Once this ship has safely exited the battlefield, I will submit the fusion device. Do we have a deal?"

"Hmm, that is tempting. Give me a minute to think about it." The enemy admiral, much older in age said just before the Holographic screen returned to a layout of the battlefield.

"Sir, you can't do this!"

"We can still win!"

After those two sentences the room just sounded like noise as people argued.

"SHUT IT!…." The room went dead silent. "I've Made up my mind. We're venting atmosphere, out torpedoes will take almost an hour to reload, the shields are almost depleted, and the Flamestone cannon is destroyed. Now, Someone open me a channel to the entire ship."

"Yes sir." A female officer replied. While she was setting up the broadcast, I continued to study the layout of the battlefield. "Whenever you're ready Admiral."

"This is your Captain speaking, Shortly one of two things will happen. Either we will resume fighting, or I will be taken captive on one of the enemy vessels. You may be wondering why I've already resorted to this, even though our shields are still up. If you have not felt it, the Flamestone cannon was destroyed just before firing. We're just luck the effects didn't spread throughout the entire ship. I am aware that what I will say next is not the proper edict, but I have known you fine men and women for years now. I'm not sure what to do other than strap myself with a nuke, and surrender my life for yours. Please do not feel as if this is your fault, for you have fought valiantly. It is my foolish judgement that has brought us to this situation... That is all."

The few minutes before the enemy admiral called were spent in silence, probably from the crew realizing what fate awaited me on the enemy ship.

"Admiral, we accept your terms of surrender. Take a shuttle over here."

"Very well."

The screen went black again.

"Prep a shuttle for launch. The second I enter their hanger, F.S.D out of here. You know they'll open fire as soon as the bomb's disabled."

"Yes sir." The helmsman replied somberly.

As I walked down the metal hallway, littered with pipes and electrical wires all over the wall. People were giving me looks of appreciation and thanks. Upon reaching the fighter hanger, I found a gathering of people around the shuttle. Including my best friend.

"Ben, what are you doing here? You need to be on the bridge."

"I'm not going to let you get taken captive without saying goodbye first. We both know what'll happen to you."

"I suppose you're right." I said, hugging my friend. "Well this is goodbye then."

"Goodbye Josh."

"Farewell Ben."

I walked to the ladder of the F-36 condor, shaking a few people's hands along the way. "Lieutenant. Just run, the ship's far past fighting condition." I said while arming the neutron bomb that was strapped to my chest; I could detonate the bomb via a switch, dying, or unplugging the heart monitor attached to my chest.

"Yes Admiral. When we get you back, I'm buying you a beer." Ben replied.

"I don't drink, and I'm only eighteen." Smiling at him.

"I don't give a shit. you're drinking after this." This earned a few chuckles from people.

"I don't want any of you to think for a second that this is your fault. UNDERSTOOD!?" I said to the group of people.

The all replied in unison "YES SIR!"

After starting the fighter, and flying through the atmospheric airlock, I accelerated toward an enemy ship. Upon boarding the enemy ship, I was taken to a dimly lit holding cell. Oddly, it had a window. Over the intercom in the cell I heard the same captain that I talked to earlier.

"Admiral I want you to know that I am impressed with you sacrifice to save your crew."

"You know I'll kill us both if you open fire."

"By all means, detonate the bomb." The man replied in a cocky tone. When I looked down, the entire bomb had powered down.

 _"Shit, they must have hit it win an EMP."_ I thought while looking out the window.

Right as the enemy captain finished his sentence, all three enemy ships opened fire on the battlecruiser. I watched helplessly as the shields and engines went out. By this time tears were streaming down my face. Then the ship's reactor exploded, sending a massive blue wave of energy everywhere. _CRACK_.

* * *

"NOOO!" I sat up to the sound of rain hitting the tarp. I realized it was all a nightmare, but I was still crying. That had been one of the worst moments in my life, and I was constantly reminded of it in my dreams.

"Elliot, Elliot what's wrong?" Judy asked groggily in a concerned voice as she sat up from her slumber.

"That lightning was close." Nick said, not realizing the situation.

Judy reached out and put a paw on my back.

"Don't touch me!" I yelped while curling into the sleeping bag.

"What happened?" Judy asked.

"Yeah it's like you've seen a ghost."

I didn't answer as I continued to sit in the fetal position, crying profusely.

"I'm Sorry….I'm sorry….I'm sorry." I just wept while thinking of what I dreamed. Over the years of having the reoccurring nightmare, it had never gotten any easier. Meanwhile Judy was looking at my scars in the dim light of early morning. She opened her mouth to speak, but Nick held out a hand to silence her, knowing what she was going to say.

"Eliot, please talk to us." Judy murmured.

"I...saw...th-the...pe-pe-people...all die again."

"Oh Elliot, It wasn't you fault." Judy said

"Ya, you told us the story. There wasn't anything you could do." Nick said while trying his best to comfort me. When he rested one of his padded paws on my back, I recoiled slightly, but let him rest it there.

"I didn't say all the story."

"What happened?" Judy asked while resting one of her smaller paws on my back.

"I-if I had noticed the EMP, they would be alive." I said while looking up at the dark and thunderous clouds overhead.

"That's okay man. I'm sure you did all you could." Nick said.

"Elliot where did you get all these scars?" Judy asked with her ears laid back.

"That's a bit too personal. But I'll let you guess." I said, almost having regained all control of my emotions. Judy immediately stood up and started to look at the scars that peppered my body. I didn't want them to worry about how I received them, so I said nothing that would tip them off to what had really happened.

"This one looks like a burn…And this one looks like a stab mark, or maybe a gunshot wound." Judy said.

"Ooo, someone got you good." Nick said as he poked the five inch scar that wrapped from the right side of my neck to my left collar bone.

"Yeah, that one almost killed me." I beamed back.

"What's this symbol mean?" Judy said while inspecting the tattoo on my left arm.

"I means a lot of things, but those will remain a mystery to you." I replied before lightly poking the inside of one of her ears.

"* _Giggle giggle*_ , stop it." She demanded while swatting at my hand. "* _Gasp*_ How could you survive that." Judy said, starting to tear up as she ran her finger along the ten inch scar that ran from just below my right peck to my left side, halfway down. Because I didn't want her to cry, I threw on my shirt as quickly as possible.

"Okay, that's enough for now." I said while stuffing my arms though the holes.

"Looks like you really can predict the weather." Nick said.

"Told you."

"What are you talking about?" Judy asked, ears popping back up.

"I can smell when rain's coming, I guess it's my, _special ability._ " I said, waving my arms like a banner at special.

"I can smell it too, how do you think my family owns one of the biggest farms In the Tri-Burrows?" Judy replied.

"Aww, and I thought I was special." I said in a faux depressed tone.

"But you are Elliot, You're special to me." Judy said as she pulled me into a hug and kissing me on the cheek.

"Thanks Judy. . . Wait, did you just kiss me?" I asked, taken aback at the Rabbits gesture.

"Maayybe" She sheepishly replied, looking at the ground.

"I don't want to intrude on your moment, but do you have any water?" Nick asked.

"Sure." I stood up, hunched under the tarp, ran to the door of the security station on the other side and pulled out a cup. After closing the door, I went back under the tarp and put the cup under the edge to collect rain water. The cup filled almost instantly due to the intensity of the rain.

"One fresh cup of water right here sir." I said.

"It's like a five star restaurant here." Nick said with a smile. "So how's your leg doing?"

"Oh it should be all better by now. . . Yeah, it's all better." I said while inspecting the flesh on my now healed calf muscle.

"So, Is that how fast you heal?" Nick asked with curiosity.

"No, that stuff I put on last night is thirty percent stem cells."

"I'll just pretend I know what that means."

I let out a small chuckle, thinking how I'm probably the smartest person on the planet. " Stem cells are adaptable cells that your body uses to heal things. In a nutshell."

"Okay, I get it."

"So Does it rain like this often, it's practically a downpour?"

"Yeah, it's monsoon season." Judy said, to which I nodded in understanding.

"What's with the layout of the sea container?" Nick asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I noticed what looked like dividers in it. Open it so I can show you what I mean." He said walking to around the other side of the sea container.

"Just press the triangular button in the center." I said.

Nick pressed the button and hydraulic pistons lifted the large 8x20 foot door up Ninety degrees, creating a roof.

"What happened to the lights?" Judy asked, standing under the door.

"I just have them turned off. LIGHTS!" I yelled, causing the white lights to illuminate the four sections of the compartment.

"Cool. SO, tell me what I'm looking at here." Nick said.

"Ok There are four sections to this side, divided evenly into five foot sections." I said while pointing to the three dividers. "This is the medical section. I can perform most surgeries from here, excluding brain and neural..."

"Grose, I don't wanna know." Judy said.

Sorry, I thought you wanted to know how it works." I looked down to her. "Besides, it's not that bad."

"Just. . . get it over with." She said, shivering in disgust.

"Okay, the first aid compartment contains a stretcher right here." I pointed to a rectangle in a slot. "Umm, I have bio-foam and a few other things, Oh and a defibrillator and a EKG readout on the door up here." I pointed to the door eight feet off the ground.

"Okay I get it. Next please." Nick said, slightly demanding.

"Oh, I'll stop if you keep talking like that." I said, Crossing my arms and facing him.

"Sorry, just tired."He defended while rubbing one of his eyes.

"Moving to our right, this is the weapons station. It' pretty self explanatory. Some rifles in the middle, handguns on the right and ammo on the left. On the door overhead is the railgun."

"Can I shoot one?" Nick asked pointing to a rifle.

"Maybe when it stops raining." I said as I moved to the food section. In reality, they weren't getting near those weapons.

"Why does this have an emblem of a shirt?" Judy asked, standing to the very right of the pod.

"I'll explain in a minute. This is the food section, indicated by the fork and knife. It's just a really big fridge and a stove."

"Speaking of food. Do you have some?" Nick asked.

"I'll see what we have in a minute. . . Finally, getting to the shirt emblem on our very right. It's a general equipment section. It has clothes, sleeping gear and a bunch of other stuff I don't care to explain. Any questions?" By this time the rain had started to decrease in intensity, and it was only a light shower.

"I have one." Judy pointed to the corner of the pod and then to the roof at the corer. "What are those?" she asked.

"The disks on the top are point defense, as well as a shield generator, there's one at each corner. The long tubes running from the top to bottom on the corners are jet engines."

"IT CAN FLY!?" Nick exclaimed

"Yeah, what else would jet engines be for? Now, you two go sit down, and I'll make us breakfast."

"But..." Nick started.

"GO." I chastened, opening the pantry above the stove.

Nick and Judy followed my instructions, quickly darting under the tarp so they wouldn't get rained on. After looking at the various foods for a minute, something dawned on me.

"HEY, do pigs talk here!?" I asked while leaning away from the pod.

"YEAH, why do you ask?"

"No reason! They probably won't take too well to me making bacon." I said to myself.

"WHHHAAAAATTTT!?" Nick exclaimed, standing behind me.

"Shhh." I said grabbing Nick's muzzle and clamping it shut with my hand. Then pinning him to the wall.

"Look, I hadn't thought of this, okay. Remember how I told you about the animals on my world. Think about it. . . . . Now I'm going to let you go. But if you scream, I'll knock you out and give you a drug to make you forget. Understand?" I asked.

Nicks eyes were completely wide eyed as he nodded. Right as let him go, Judy popped around the corner.

"Everything okay?" She cheerily asked.

"Yeah, I just wanted to ask Nick what you like to eat." I said as I squeezed his arm tightly behind his back.

"Okay, well I like carrots." She said, walking back around the corner. It was only drizzling by this point.

"Nick let me explain." I said while taking a step back.

"Oh you better." He pointed a paw at my face, to which I grabbed. My left hand enveloped his right paw as I started to crush it in my hand.

"Ow Ow Ow ow. . . p-pl-please let go." He said with terror.

"Sorry, I forget how strong the arm is some times." I said while flexing my left hand's fingers. "For me this is normal food, I don't expect you to accept it, but this is what I eat. At least, was what I ate. Now I suppose I'll have to eat whatever you do." I said handing him a package of bacon.

He grabbed it, and started to inspect it. "I understand. . .I won't say anything under two conditions. One, tell me how you're so strong. I noticed you say, THE arm, not MY arm. And two, I get to try some." He handed me the plastic package back.

As I put it back in the fridge I responded. "I'm not sure you really want to have some. it's seems kind of messed up to me."

"Fine I'll Just tell…."

"You take another step, and I'll put you asleep." Saying that made Nick stop in his tracks.

"Are you threatening a police officer." He said in an annoyed tone, without turning around.

" _Sigh_ … You idiot." I said, grabbing a pistol out of the weapons section and pointing it at him. The pistol clicked off safety, and when Nick heard the sound he turned around

"Whoa, just calm down pal." He said while taking a few steps back, passing the edge of the pod. His ears laid completely flat against his head as the four foot fox continued to back up with his hands raised. I began to edge forward while nick back-stepped.

"How stupid do you think I am?" I rhetorically asked, knowing that Nick was trying to get the attention of Judy. I knew what his plan was, so I switched from holding the pistol in my left hand, to my right. As I walked forward, I waited for the rabbit to jump out and try to take me down. Right on cue, I walked past the edge of the pod and she hurtled herself at my face.

"Nice try." I said catching Judy in mid air with my left hand.

"Hhnnggg. . .Let. . .me. . .GO!" She Strained out, struggling in my grasp.

"Now why would I do that. . . For the benefit of the foreseeable future, I think I'm just going to give you both amnesia." I said, turning around and walking to the medical station, With Judy still in my clutches.

"It'll never work!" She yelled hitting my forearm, to no avail.

"It always works. Not the first time, and it certainly won't be the last." I replied. "To be honest, I'd rather just let you go and explain myself to both of." I stopped mid sentence from hearing Nick running toward me. Once he was at the appropriate distance I did a spin kick, catching him completely off guard. My boot planted firmly into his chest, sending him through the air a few feet.

"NICK!" Judy exclaimed, trying even harder to escape. I was now facing Nick with a pistol in my right hand, and Judy in the other.

" _Screw it."_ I let Judy go and she caught herself before running to Nick. "It's not worth it to me." I said tossing the gun at the two.

Judy instantly picked up the pistol and pointed it at me. "Get Down on the ground! You're under arrest." She said in a firm tone, even though the pistol was shaking in her hand.

The situation was now me standing ten feet away from the Security station. Nick and Judy were about fifteen feet away from the pod, parallel to it, Nick still writhing in pain on the ground.

I looked around at the scenery, seeing the hundred square foot meadow in the middle of a forest we were in, peppered with lovely white flowers. Dark clouds over head, drizzling on us.

"Just do it." I softly said, slowly closing my eyes.

"Wh-what?"

"Just end the nightmare." I said opening my eyes, bending down and picking up a white flower.

"Put your hands in the air." She said getting closer, still aiming the weapon at me.

"If I don't, will you shoot me?" I asked calmly.

"Y-yes." She said with uncertainty.

"Then just pull the trigger." I said softly as I sat down with my legs crossed. The grass coming up to my stomach as I looked at the small white flower in my fingertips.

"Why would you say that?" She asked, with the pistol up, but wavering even more.

"My life's a mess. Just put it all in order, by pulling the trigger." I looked up from to the flower at Judy.

I watched as Judy walked a little closer, aiming the gun at my head. I closed my eyes, Ready for the journey to end swiftly. Simply waiting for the burning of white phosphorous to fly through my face. Instead, I felt a soft paw on my right cheek. When I opened my eyes, Judy was standing inches away from my face with tears in her eyes. I looked at her without saying a word, and eventually she dropped the gun and hugged me tightly.

"I d-d-don't know what t-t-to make of this. But I kn-kn-kn-know you need help to get through it." She said, starting to calm down. It was now my turn to let my emotions run free. I grabbed Judy's back with both of my hands, which made her flinch. I hugged her tightly, but not to tight, and started weeping.

"I-I'm sorry for hurting you." I said, shedding tears by the dozens. "I Just do-don't know what to do anymore. I've al-always known what to do, but-but for the third time in my entire life. . . I'm helpless." For the next fifteen minutes I held onto Judy as I cried.

* * *

-==Fifteen minutes later==-

"You think you let it all out?" Judy asked with care.

"Sniff.. Yeah." I said letting go of her. Immediately I was punched in the chest by Nick. Although this hurt, my plan had worked just as I wanted it to. I reality, the pistol didn't have a round chambered, so if Judy would have pulled the trigger; I would know that they were indeed my enemy, and they would need eliminating. My crying was entirely made up, and I wasn't in the slightest bit sad. The espionage training I received had come in handy once again.

"NICK." Judy scolded as I rubbed my chest, from moderate pain.

"You deserved a lot more than that. You crush my hand, threaten to give me amnesia, then kick me in the chest."

"I'm sorry." I said in a low tone. Internally, i was devilishly smiling that they hadn't a clue.

He looked at me with an ear slightly flattened, then put a paw on my shoulder. "Here's the new deal, you tell us what's with the food, and what's with your arm. And we won't arrest you." Nick said, holding the pistol in the other hand.

"Okay." I said while standing up. I was not pleased with this, but not every goal is achievable. I stood up, making my way back to the pod silently. I noticed It was no longer drizzling. The storm had been blown away, most likely from the breeze that I felt.

I opened the fridge and pulled out the same package of bacon. "This is bacon." Judy instantly dry heaved at the sight. "Yeah, sorry. I hadn't thought about witch animals talk here. On my planet they're just wild animals."

"Thats….Sick." Judy replied with exasperation.

"Nick, what do you eat for protein here?" I asked, putting the package away.

"Fish and bugs." He replied.

"Here's some salmon. Is this grose to you?" I held up a few slices of salmon that were in a clear, vacuum sealed package.

"No, it actually looks pretty good." He said.

"Where I'm from, both are wild. So eating fish isn't any different than bacon. I know It must be nasty to you, but think about it. If Pigs never gained the ability to talk or walk on two legs, you would most likely eat them too." I said while closing the fridge, then pulling down the large door to the pod.

I walked to the other side, and sat down under the tarp, leaning up against the wall.

"I think I see your point of view." Nick said, standing in front of me.

"Me too. . . It's just, ugh to think about." Judy said, shivering in disgust.

We continued to talk for a few minutes about the topic and Nick eventually brought up my arm again. There were now little clouds in the sky and it was about seven in the morning.

"So why did you call it, _The_ arm instead of, _my_ arm?" Nick was sitting down in front of me, with Judy next to her. Nick still had the Handgun, probably not knowing it still didn't have a round chambered. MY only response was pulling the long sleeve shit again.

"What are you doing?" Judy asked.

"Just watch." I pressed on a combination of spots on the inside of my left forearm, turning on a display.

"W-Why do You have a monitor embedded into your arm?" Judy stuttered as she stood up to look closer.

"Because. . . It's not really my arm." I said while pulling my left arm off my shoulder. "I lost it in an accident, and please don't make me tell you how." I said while setting the arm in my lap.

"Tell me." Nick said sternly.

"I'd rather not."

"You don't have choice." Nick ordered. UGH, I really wanted to plant my boot into his chest again.

"A jet turbine exploded, sending a blade into my chest." I replied while running my finger over the ten inch scar. "My arm just happened to be in the way."

Nick stared at me blankly for a few minutes before saying to put it back on. Judy kept on looking at the arm while I sat in silence. A few minutes went by before I decided to get some food. I asked if Nick and Judy wanted any as I stood up, but they said no. Upon returning from the back of the pod I had a glass of Water and a small pill.

"If that's an amnesia pill, I'm not taking it." Nick said while gripping the pistol tightly.

"Relax, It's my food for the day. It has all the nutrients of three healthy meals in it." Holding up the Brown capsule so Nick and Judy could see it.

After swallowing the pill, I walked away from the pods, into the most open area of the meadow. It was now brightly lit and I admired the wavering grass, flowers and trees around me. I could feel the warmth of the sun beating down on my face, which isn't something I get to do very often. Looking into the sky, I noticed how blue it was. The sky was almost the exact color, blue. "Must be because of the air quality." I postulated while looking around at the green pine trees. After a few minutes of standing perfectly still, I walked back to Nick and Judy.

So, are you going to tell me how you have three hundred years of experience." Nick said, handing me the pistol, which I put on safety immediately. this was still a part of the facade, just to make sure they believed my story.

"Sure."

"You're three hundred!"

"Calm down rabbit." Holding her shoulders. "I'm twenty six. AH-ah-ah." I said, holding up a finger to her mouth to silence her. "I'm not going to explain it in detail but it works kinda like this.

I started pacing back and forth. "I was plugged into a computer and time goes really fast in the computer. Every two minutes in real life is an hour in the computer. Spend ten years in the computer and you get. . . Well I think you get the idea."

"Wait, so when did you enter into whatever program its called? Nick asked.

"I wasssss, thirteen. . ."

"That's young." Judy said.

"Yeah, thirteen months old. Sorry I didn't catch what you said." Looking at Judy.

"WHAT!?"

"It may have been twelve months. But don't hold me to it."

"But what about growing up. Where was your childhood!?" Judy asked.

"I was never allowed to have a childhood. But I couldn't have missed out on that much." I shrugged my shoulders. I was taken aback when Judy jumped up almost six feet and wrapped her arms around my neck. I had almost instinctively shot a fist at her face, but thankfully didn't.

"You poor, poor thing." Judy said, holding on to me.

"Judy, it's not as bad as it sounds. I got to spend my weekends with my parents." I put my hand under Judy's hind paws so she could freely stand at my eye level.

"It is Elliot. You have no idea what a childhood is like. No one should ever have to go through that."

"Judy." I started petting her laid back ears with the other hand. "I'm really ok. The military might have given me an odd childhood, but that never changed my spirit." Taping my heart. "Besides, You should really be giving Nick this hug. He's had it worse than me." I started to scratch Judy's ears just underneath the base of where they attached in an attempt to get her off of me.

"H-h-how did you learn to scratch like that." Judy said practically in shivers as her foot began to thump. Obviously the desired effect didn't happen.

"Don't ask."

"But I didn't e-e-e-even know about it." Judy said, her foot now rapidly kicking the air.

"You really want to know?" I asked, not really caring.

"Yessss." Judy managed to say, now panting furiously.

"It's just the human touch, nothing else. We have an. . _Effect_ on animals." I replied, slowing my scratching down.

"Wait, you're saying that you could do this to me too?" Nick asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, K-nines are one of the easiest." After hearing this, Nick crossed his arms in frustration before muttering something incoherent. I set the still panting Judy on the ground, where she laid for the next few minutes. We continued to talk about various things for a few hours, and I had eventually decided to walk back to Nick and Judy's car with them. As I was putting a few odds and ends away, I noticed Nick and Judy talking to each other, about twenty feet away by the communications relay.

"Nick we can't just leave him here."

"Why not, Even if we did ask him, he'd probably say he has to stay with the gear."

"Well then, how about another bet. If he comes with us, I get my five dollars back."

"And if I win."

"If you wiiinnn. . . I'll do one thing you say."

"Hmm...deal."

" _What, are they talking about."_ I wondered.

"Hey Elliot, do you want to come with us." Judy asked, turning to face me.

"Sure I could walk you to your car, It'll give my suit a chance to recharge."

"That's not what I mean." Judy said.

"Oh, you want me to come with you to wherever you're going."

"Ya, we could show you around the nearby town." Judy said.

"I really should stay here." I said.

"See Judy." Nick said.

 _"_ Ya-know what, sure, I'll go with you. I just need to grab something." I said while moving to the miscellaneous section of the Security station.

"YAY, I won." Judy exclaimed, holding out her hand.

I started rummaging through the perfectly organized pod in the Shirt section and after a minute or two, I found what I was looking for.

"What's that?" Judy asked, looking at the Multicam tropic suit and helmet in my arms.

"It's a G suit. it let's me fly at supersonic speeds."

"OOO, so you're going to show us the wingsuit." Judy said.

"Yep, but it has to recharge so I'll show you when we get there."

"Whats with the spider helmet?" Nick asked.

"It's a full face helmet so I can breath at very high speeds. The six eyes you see are cameras pointed at different angles, so I have a wider field of vision."

"Does it do anything special?" Judy asked as she reached for it.

I handed it to her. "Yeah, it has night vision, thermal, binoculars, and a heads up display." I said as Judy put her head in it, making her look like a Bobble-head.

"I don't see anything." She said, taking it back off.

"That's because it's shut off silly." I replied while putting the helmet on and turning it on.

* * *

-==Twenty Minutes later==-

"I have some interesting facts about your planet." I said as we walked through the pine trees of the forest. I had strapped the Wingsuit to my body with just the BDU's, deciding I wouldn't need the G-suit since I would only be flying at low speeds. Because of that, I had the one piece camouflage suit hanging over the top of the Wingsuit; The wings were deployed, but rotated behind my back like a cape, so the solar panels would recharge the suit.

"Oh yeah, what's that?" Judy asked in a chipper tone.

"This planet has much better air quality than my planet, so I can go a very long distance without becoming tired."

"that's cool I guess. So how much better is it?" Nick asked.

"Well the air pressure is three times more, and the air is two time more saturated as well. Either of these things are outstanding for me. Combined it feels like I won't ever get tired."

"How does that work?" Judy asked while looking up at me.

"How does what work?"

"The better air."

"Oh, it's usually caused by the planet's magnetic field being able to better retain the atmosphere from solar winds. The gravity is what pulls the Air down to make it thicker, but the magnetic field keeps the atmosphere on the planet."

After we walked for a while longer Nick needed a break.

"Man this is exhausting." He said, sitting on rock.

"Ok, come here." I said, throwing him over my shoulder in a fireman's carry.

"HEY, PUT ME DOWN!" Nick yelled, trying to escape.

"You're tired and were not. So shut up and catch your breath." I said, starting to walk as Judy tried to hold back giggles. After a few seconds, Nick let out a low growl.

"If you so much as NIP me, I'll kill you." I stated flatly.

"You don't mean that, right?" Judy asked looking up at Nick who's eyes were wide from fear.

"Nick expression should tell you. After all, he's good at reading people."

"Nick?" Judy asked.

"He means it Carrots." Nick said still wide eyed.

Judy simply looked straight ahead not saying anything as her ears drooped.

"Hahaha, I knew I could defeat you're detection skills." I said, smiling.

"HOW. I've never seen anyone able to do that before." Nick asked.

"I was required to be able to defeat a polygraph to become an Admiral. I had to tell several stories about myself that were completely fake, including all emotion."

"So you can fake any emotion?" Judy asked.

I began to cry. "N-n-no I can't. Jus-just leave me alone." As soon as I finished my sentence, I realized I had made a mistake. If they knew if could fake crying, and then connected the dots, they wouldn't be leaving the forest.

"Oh. . . I'm sorry." Judy said, ears laid back.

"Judy, it was fake. I'm not really sad." I said, back in a normal tone.

"You have to teach me that." Nick said in a giddy voice.

"How do I know you would use it responsibly?"

"ME. I'm the most responsible person here."

"Ahem." Judy said while smacking his dangling leg.

"Ya-know. You guys are quite an interesting couple." I said while stepping over a tree root.

"She's Not."

"He's Not." They said in unison.

"Were not a couple!" Judy exclaimed.

"Could of fooled me."

"Were just friends." Nick said.

"Oookayyyy, whatever you say." I said while dropping off a eight foot ledge.

When we reached the edge of the forest, I instinctively took cover behind a tree.

"Elliot what are you doing?" Nick asked, still on my shoulders.

"Huh, oh um, nothing." I tried to make nothing of what I did, casually standing up from my lowered position.

"Elliot why did you hide behind that tree?" Judy asked.

"I don't know what your talking about." I replied.

"Elliot." Judy said, now tapping her foot rapidly on the ground.

"* _Sigh*_... I was expecting enemy combatants on the other side." I said while setting Nick down.

"Elliot why would you expect bad guys on the other side of the forest?" Nick asked.

"I've been fighting for so long all I expect is more war...What I just did was completely automatic." I explained while making my way through the last of the trees. Once I passed the last of the trees, I observed a long stretch of pavement, completely void of cars, save for a small, orange sedan.

"HA...haha...hahahaha."

"Why are you laughing?" Judy asked.

"Hahahaha...Your car..hahaha.. It's so small." I said still trying to contain myself at the almost four foot long orange sedan.

"See Judy, he agrees with me." Nick said as I finally contained my laughter.

"I don't agree with anything afráta alepoú. I just hadn't thought of how big your car would be, and that why it's funny."

"What was that you said? Alfredo loop... or something. Nick asked while stepping into the passenger side of the vehicle.

"It means fluffy fox." I replied absentmindedly. "So which direction are we going?" I asked.

"Just follow us." Nick said, from the passenger seat.

"Okey-dokey.. Oh can I put this in your car?" I said, holding the G suit in my hands.

"I don't know it might not fit in our tiny car." Judy said in a mocking attempt.

"I'm sure you're car is fine, but I was expecting a car my size for some reason." I replied.

"I'll hold it for ya." Nick interjected, holding his hands out the window.

"Thanks, At least I have my afráta alepoú to care for me. " I said in a joking tone.

"Whatever." Judy said in an equally joking tone.

"WHOA!" Nick exclaimed.

"What?"

"It turned orange camo!"

"Yeah it does that. lemme turn that off." I said while reaching in the car. once I pressed a button the the suits helmet, the camouflage changed back to normal Multicam.

"HOW!?" Nick asked ecstatically.

"Uhhhhh. No, I don't even know that."

With that, I walked a few steps away from the car, into the middle of the road. I put on my flight goggles and communications headset, then grabbed the handles used to control the wings, rotating each of the six foot wings to the horizontal position. I did another check of my harness, and seeing it was all cinched, I turned on the Electric turbojets via my arm mounted control panel. The four turbojets started a low whirring sound until I did a few test revs, sending them into a loud scream with each rev. With a formal salute to the stunned animals in the car, I reached up to both of the wing's grab handles, and rolled the throttle wheel with my right thumb.

I was almost instantly shot into the air about thirty meters, putting an enormous G-load on my body. Nevertheless, I began a surveillance circle above the car, waiting for it to move down the road. But it didn't move, I don't think it even started. upon closer inspection, I saw the duo staring at me thought the window. They wanted a show, I'd give em' a show alright. Once I was aligned parallel with the road, I dove at around eighty degrees straight towards the cat, pulling up at the last second. This sent debris from the jet wash all over the place while I shot down the road at a few hundred kilometers an hour.. After reaching a distance of a few hundred meters from the car, I pulled up into a vertical spin, spiraling up hundreds upon hundred of meters in the air. Once I leveled out, and looked down to the car, which was now a tiny dot, I saw it was moving. I began to slowly follow them from above the winding roads. I was humming songs in my head as we flew, and then it dawned on me I could actually listen to songs though the Communications headset i put on. I began navigating though the display on my goggles by looking at a menu item and blinking twice. After navigating for a few seconds, I selected Beyond The Horizon, by Kari Sigurdsson. I blinked twice in rapid succession, confirming I wanted to listen to the song, and it started a few seconds later.

(Listen to the song)

* * *

-=Car Pov=-

"Judy look at this." Nick exclaimed while inspecting the G-suit.

"I see it Nick."

"How do ya think it works?" He asked.

"How should I know."

"I'll have to ask Elliot. . . How do you open the sunroof? I want to watch."

Judy reached up to a button by the rear view mirror and opened the sunroof.

"Thanks Carrots." Nick said just before unbuckling, and sticking his whole upper torso out of the sun roof.

"Nick get in here!" Judy yelled.

"Not a chance Carrots." He replied while watching Elliot fly way above.

" _Why should he get to watch and I have to drive."_ Judy thought.

Nick was watching Elliot fly, and he must have noticed. Elliot started a steep dive right for Nick, folding the wings up like a tight cocoon around his body and spinning clockwise, almost making a raindrop like shape. Nick thought this was cool at first, but when Elliot didn't pull, Nick started to become scared of the two-hundred pound projectile flying at him. When Nick started holding up his hands to brace for impact, Elliot unwrapped the wings from his body and pulled up, missing Nick by inches. Elliot propelled down the road hundreds of meters, so he pulled a cobra maneuver to let the car catch up. Once the car caught up, Elliot resumed following it from about ten feet away. He followed from this distance through several tight bends in the road, waiting for the right moment to execute his maneuver. Once a long straight away in the road was established, Elliot closed the gap between himself and Nick. locking the left wing into place, Elliot let go of the wing and reached out, running his hand along the car roof while accelerating slowly past. Nick watched in awe of how skilled the pilot was flying.

After a few seconds of maintaining his position above the car roof. He accelerated to the front of the car, making Nick duck under the left wing that was just a foot away from the roof. Once He was just in front and above the car windshield, Elliot looked toward his feet to see Judy sitting in the driver's seat, staring back with her mouth gaping. Judy watched as Elliot smiled and waved. Once he put his arm on the wing to unlock it, Judy waved in a stunned fashion. He moved up a few more feet in front of the car and shot up at a forty five degree angle. This sprayed jet wash all over the car, causing it to shake. Elliot was now at the limit of what he could do without the G-suit. He was going 230 miles per hour with 5G's pulling on him, making him weigh the equivalent of nine-hundred pounds. Once Elliot was at the desired elevation, he slowed down to sixty five miles an hour, at an elevation of 2,000 feet above the car, and continued to follow it.

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

"Hnnnggg…. That was too much without the G-suit. But oh-man, her face was priceless!"

-==One Hour Later==-

I continued following the car from above, eventually laying eyes on a large town in the distance. Once we neared the unidentified settlement, I saw a billboard with two ears sticking out of it. _'You are now entering Bunnyburrow. Population 214,321,584.'_

"You have to be kidding-" I was interrupted by the onboard computer.

"Warning, Power levels low." The computer said in it's female English accent.

"Good thing were here, or I'd be walking."

I noticed The car turning down a dirt road that looked rather long. So I throttled up and climbed a thousand or so feet, then shut the engines off to save power.

-=Nick Pov=-

"Nick do you still see Elliot?"

"No, he disappeared after I saw him climb really high."

"Okay, well we're almost there, so sit back down." She said while turning down another dirt road.

"Roger that Carrot 1."

"Why?" Judy Inquired.

"I dunno." I said, shrugging my shoulders.

We pulled up to a house at the end of the dirt road, and the car was immediately surrounded with rabbits of all shapes and sizes. Judy started to exit the car but I stopped her. "NO, it's the Rabbit apocalypse out there, they might eat you." I said with a half lidded smirk. Judy simply rolled her eyes and stepped out of the vehicle. I waited a good few minutes, due to Judy saying her parents being a bit suspicious of foxes. Once some of the initial hoard of Rabbits dispersed, I stepped out of the car and retrieved out luggage.

 **Click**

The trunk closed and all eyes were instantly on me, some with fear, some with disgust, and some with curiosity. I almost immediately gave Judy a _"save me"_ look.

"Mom, dad, this is Nick. My partner at the ZPD." Judy said, walking over to me and holding onto my right arm a little too close. As Judy's parents walked over to me, I put down our luggage.

"Hi my name's Nick Wilde, it's nice to meet you Mister and Misses Hopps." I said, holding out a paw to Mister Hopps, Who Shook it vigorously with both of his.

"Nick to meet-ya Nick, But call me Stu." He smiled Kindly.

I then held out my paw to Mrs. Hopps, who shook it more cautiously than Stu.

"Nice to meet you Mister Wilde. You may call me Bonnie." She said, gently shaking my hand.

"Oh please, call me Nick."

I let go of Bonnie's paw and all the other rabbits went back to flooding Judy, except for a few kits That kept grabbing at my tail. I started to wonder where Elliot was, as we had been at the house for a few minutes by this point.

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

"Power Levels critical."

"Okay, final approach." I mumbled while diving to reach the optimal gliding speed. I noticed what looked like a sea of something on the ground, but dismissed it as my mind messing with me. Once I was relatively close, I realized the sea of moving ground was really rabbits.

"There must be hundreds of them!"

Now reaching a speed of 103 miles and hour. I was fast approaching the house at an elevation of twenty or thirty feet. I did another cobra maneuver to bleed my speed, which worked; I ended up landing about 15 feet behind Nick and Judy's car, stumbling with each step from the G load I put myself under. My vision was still partially tunneled, and I had almost no feel for balance, causing me to fall. After regaining my vision, I tried to stand up, but fell again. About a minute later, I had regained total consciousness, but stood up using the wings for support. Assuring I wouldn't fall again by taking a few steps, I retracted the wings into my pack.

"NOOO!"

 **chhcuk-khheeeww**

I looked at my chest, seeing that my shirt and skin was torn up and bleeding at my stomach. I then looked up from my stomach to see a brown rabbit holding a smoking black powder rifle.

"SoOoOo primitive… but very effective." I coughed out while looking at the rabbit. When I spoke, he looked at me for a second before dropping his small rabbit sized rifle in shock.

I closed my eyes for a moment and when I opened them, I was laying on my back with Judy standing above me, God rays shining behind her.

"NICK, call and ambulance!" Judy yelled.

"Elliot you going to be just fine."

"Oh please, saying something * _cough*_ like that is stupid. What did I get shot with?" I asked, finding it hard to talk.

"That doesn't matter." Judy replied.

By this point, rabbits had surrounded me. "Of course it matters."

"It was a .410 minié ball." I heard come behind Judy.

"Well...crap." I started coughing up blood. "Remove the children. . . from the scene."

"Kid's go wait inside." I heard someone say authoritatively.

"Judy, it'll be okay." I said while resting a hand on Judy's cheek and watching rabbits walk away.

"No-no-no, don't talk like that." Judy said as she held my hand to her cheek.

"Take my gun." Holding out the pistol with my left hand. "It's yours now."

"You're not going to die." She said while pushing the gun away.

"A gr-great man once sa-said * _cough*_ no one w-w-wants to d-d-die and yet de-dea-death is the de-des-destination we all share." I said with a single tear dripping from my face.

"Elliot you're going to be fine, I pr-promise." She tried to say with confidence.

As I laid in the dirt driveway, all of my pain was instantly swept away, and I felt a cool breeze on my face. I felt the liquid that was my blood, gushing from my stomach, creating a pool of blood around me, but it did not hurt. looking into the sky, I saw images of my life flashing before me and I was at peace. All sounds around me started to fade away, and I knew I was going to die. That is until I remembered something.

"Ju-Judy get the Rsk from my pack." I rasped, trying to reach for my arm to press the button that opened its compartment.

"What's the rsk?" Judy said frantically.

"Plus b-button.. in-in-inject into neck." I said, still trying to press the button on my arm display.

"Elliot, I don't know what you're saying."

"Arm panel..plus button."

"Arm pan.. OH okay, okay, Plus button... I don't see a plus button Elliot!" Judy said with panic as she looked at the panel.

"Gasssp. . . Judith I'm coming home, I'll s-s-see you soon." I said, smiling and looking into the clear sky.

"Elliot what are you talking about!"

"I've missed you."

"Who are you talking to!?" She shrieked.

With the last of my strength I said one last sentence, while looking at Judy.

"You two will have a life toge-together, But m-my journey is over...Goodbye Judy." I said while closing my eyes, a smile plastered on my face.

"No-no-no-no come on Elliot, stay with me. Stay wit…." Her voice echoed and faded into nothingness as everything disappeared.


	5. Chapter 5: Revelations

_Chapter Five: Revelations_

 _Life is pleasant, Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's difficult._

* * *

My vision faded to black for just a moment Before I sat up, feeling completely fine. I stood up, still feeling a cool breeze on my face, seeing Judy Holding my lifeless and mangled body, her tears falling on my chest. I realized I was a dead.

"Why are you so caring, you just met me." I Said in a pitiful voice as I looked down at her.

I looked down the dirt road I had flown above, and I saw two ambulances driving up. Once they stopped Two antelopes emerged from the back of the closest ambulance along with a rabbit from the driver's seat and a cheetah from the passenger's seat. When they saw my body they stopped for a moment and looked at it, but continued with their work after Judy screamed at them. The EMT's started by taking off the wingsuit, then put by body on a stretcher and loaded it into the ambulance. Judy and Nick followed them into the Back of the ambulance, Nick holding my pack. I watched as they started charging a defibrillator before closing the door to the ambulance and driving off, in a cloud of dust.

"Today was a good day to die I suppose." I said, smiling while looking at the odd house configuration. The main part of the house was about 36 feet tall with pink ears coming out the top. I figured it could have Maybe five or six stories, in rabbit sizes. What struck me as the most strange thing was that the house was built into a hill, with the entrance and little pink windows dotting all over the outside of the hill, like pillboxes. I went to inspect it further but I heard a loud whisper Behind me.

"It's not you time Yet, Joshua"

I turned around and found no one there, except a few dozen rabbits standing around the one that shot me. My vision started to blur and fade away. "Oh come on!" I said angrily, before my vision went entirely black.

* * *

-=Judy Pov=-

"Charging. . . Clear!" **ZAP** "Increase voltage to four hundred. . . charging. . . Clear!" **ZAP**

"We have a pulse! It's weak but it's there."

As the ambulance drove down the road taking us to the Bunnyburrow medical center the EMT'S continued talking about what to do as they hooked up medical equipment. when we arrived at the hospital all I could think about was what Elliot said.

" _What did he mean?"_

* * *

-==Five hours later==-

" _You two will have a life together_ _….._ _You two will have a life together_ _….._ _You two will have a life together._ _"_

Elliot's last sentence still rung in my head over and over.

" _What did he mean. Did he mean we would live. No that's not it, com_ _e_ _on Judy think…Maybe he_ _meant_ _Nick and I being something more...No that's_ _not it,_ _we're just friends._ _But that's what it sounds like. Did he see something I haven't in nine month's._ _"_

I was interrupted from my thoughts as a Brown rabbit wearing a white doctor's coat walked up to the line of chairs where we were sitting.

"How's he doing?" I asked.

"Well the next few hours will be critical." He said, standing in front of us.

"You can tell us as it is." Nick said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." I said, nodding slowly with my ears flopped back.

"Very Well.." looking at the clipboard he was holding. "He has several damaged vital organs, internal bleeding, a fractured spine and to make things worse, we don't know anything about his biology. In my professional opinion he won't make it more than a few days, I'm sorry. Now if you'll excuse me I have patients to attend to."

"Before you go. Do you have any idea what he is? I asked.

"Well he seems to be a warm blooded mammal of some kind, and a predator. A bad one though considering he has no claws and barely teeth you would call fangs. As far as his physical structure goes, it looks like his species always walked on two feet. From my initial observations he's a jack of all trades species. He really is a marvel of engineering if you ask me. Sorry, but I have to go" The doctor said walking off into another room.

"Carrots, what do you want to do? It's late and I don't think you want to stay at your parents after what happened." Nick said, while looking at Elliot's backpack like object laying on the floor.

"Can you find us a hotel for the night?" Looking up from the floor at Nick.

"Sure thing Judy."

After finding a motel, Nick and I collected Elliot's things, then left the hospital and started walking to the motel. By this time it was 8:00 P.M.

"Nick, Do you think he'll be okay?" I asked as we walked down the streets of the silent town.

"I'm not sure, but he seemed very accepting and at peace with dying. I mean, HE had a SMILE on his face when he died! Who does that." Waving his paws to make a point.

"How could anyone be okay with dying!?" I Asked, frustrated at the whole situation as I made a very tight fist.

"Maybe for him death is better than having to live with whatever happened to him. All those scars came from somewhere." Nick said.

"I wish he would tell us, Maybe we could help him though it ya-know." Looking up at Nick as my ears drooped down.

"We only met him yesterday Carrots." He softly said.

"I suppose you're right. . . Man It's cold." I said, starting to shiver.

"Maybe this will help." Nick said wrapping his tail around me

"Nick, what are you doing?" I said feeling my cheeks and ears heat up, While lifting my arms above his tail that was wrapped around my abdomen.

"You said you were cold, but if you don't want me to I'll stop." Nick said, starting to unwrap his tail.

"NO, I mean, It's fine." I said grabbing the very fluffy tail. I immediately let go, realizing what I did, which made me blush even harder.

"Uh...o-okay." Nick said, pulling me in closer. I could see a hint of red on his ears.

The rest of the walk to the motel was spent in silence. After getting our room key we made our way to the room.

" _Sigh_...I'll sleep on the floor." Nick said making his way into the small room, setting Elliot's wingsuit on the floor. The room Had One large bed on the wall to the left in the middle, a small, old style box Tv across from it, and a bathroom towards the back. The walls had some kind of flower wallpaper on them.

"Nick the bed is for Mammals five times our size, we can share."

"Carrots it's fine. I slept under a bridge for years, remember."

"Nick it would be silly if you slept on the floor."

"Really, it's fine."

"Niiick." I said rapidly tapping my foot.

"Fine, but be forewarned, I just might be to soft to resist."

"Oh I don't think that'll be a problem, Mister fox." What I said made Nick instantly stiffen up and shudder.

"Where did you get that name?" Nick said with his ears turning red.

"I just made it up, why?" Looking at Nick with suspicion.

"Uhh...no reason." He said, starting to put Elliot's other things on the floor.

"Slick, tell m... ya-know what. I don't care." I said, flopping on one side of the bed.

"Night Judy." Nick said laying on the other side.

" _Why did he use my name again...It's not like him to do that."_

" _Why did she want me to share the bed with her. . ._ _Was Elliot right?"_

* * *

-==11 hours later==-

-=Nick Pov=-

As I woke up feeling rather rested after the last few days of strange, well strange doesn't really cover it. The last few days of downright insane events that occurred. I shifted in the bed, not wanting to get up, and as I laid I felt a small weight on my chest. I thought it was just the blanket, so I reached down to move it and when it did I felt a small lump that wasn't me. When I opened my eyes and looked down at my chest I was met with a sleeping bunny, laying stomach to stomach on my bare fur.

" _SSHHHHHHIIIIIITTTTT!"_ I started to breath faster out of fear for my life. _"Judy's going to kill me when she wakes up."_ By this point my ears were completely flat on my head and my eyes were wide. I laid there just wide eyed, trying not to make a sound.

After a few minutes, Judy started to stir. She stretched a little, then dug her paws into the fur on my sides. She felt around a little, but as I looked at her closed eyes, hoping they wouldn't open, I had a plan. I would act like I was sleeping and hopefully she would be the one to freak out, and I could be mad at her, Even though she felt strangely nice laying there. A few seconds after closing my eyes and making my expression go blank, I felt her lift her head off my chest, probably to see what she was laying on.

* * *

-=Judy Pov=-

As I lifted my head to see what soft object I was laying on I realized it was Nick. _"Oh sweet cheese and crackers."_ I looked at him in utter fear of his eyes opening to see me laying on him, WITHOUT A SHIRT!

" _Where did his shirt go!?"_ I looked down a little bit further, fearing the worst. _"Whew, At least he has pants on. Wait, where's my shirt!?"_ I was slightly relieved that I was still wearing a bra, but not by much. " _How did this happen!"_ I thought as I tried to get off Nick, but was pulled back by him. Now he had an arm around my back and I had no chance of escape.

My current situation was getting worse by the minute. Nick was laying on his side of the bed, on his back with no shirt on. I was laying on his chest, also with no shirt on. Both of us were under the blankets, And to top it all off he had an arm around my back, holding me in place.

I started to get scared the he would want a new partner after this, Which caused me to start tearing up. I tried to hide it, but when a tear dripped onto his neck, Nick started to stir. This only caused me to only cry harder, from realizing I was going to lose my best friend in the world, all because I wanted him to share the bed.

* * *

-=Nick Pov=-

My plan was working perfectly, and to top it all off I got a hand around her back without her noticing anything. I was about to open my eyes and act super surprised, which to be honest I was. But I felt a wet Spot hit my neck, then another, and another. Pretty soon they were steadily falling, and I could hear what sounded like muffled crying from Judy.

I opened my eyes and saw her looking at me with fear and sadness on her face as tears were streaming down.

"J-Judy… Are you ok?" I quietly asked as I removed my hand from her back, which only caused her to start bawling as she removed herself from my chest. "Judy?" I asked, thinking that she might hate me for what was happening.

* * *

-=Third Pov=-

Judy was bawling on her side of the bed as Nick looked at her in worry. "J-Judy why are you crying?" He asked, fearing the reason.

"D-d-do you hate me now." She asked between sobs.

"What, Judy I would never hate you." He said scooting closer to her.

Judy stood up on the bed and wrapped her arms around Nick in a hug so tight it was choking him.

"I-I thought you would hate me for me sleeping on you." She said, letting Nick go and rubbing her eyes to wipe the tears away.

"Judy, Not a thing in the world could make me hate you." He said cupping Judy's right cheek.

"But, you hated me after the press conference." She said, holding onto Nick paw that was on her cheek.

"Carrots, I just overreacted, we've been over that." Letting go of Judy's cheek.

". . . .Why aren't we wearing shirts?" Judy asked, sitting down on the bed.

"I uhh, I don't know. We went to sleep with them on." Nick said, getting off the bed and looking for his shirt, like nothing happened.

"Nick, we should probably talk about what happened. I think we should just pretend it didn't happen." Judy said, also looking for her shirt.

"Judy, I found them...in the bathroom." Nick said with confusion, from the bathroom. He grabbed the two shirts and handed Judy hers. "I think you're right about what happened." Although Nick brushed off what happened, he really didn't want to pretend like it didn't happen.

"Yeeeeaahhhh. . . . . . . We should see how Elliot's doing."

"After you Fluff." Nick said, picking up the EXO-35.

* * *

-==20 minutes later==-

-=Judy Pov=-

"What! Where was he transferred to?" I asked.

"Tundra Town Medical Ma'am." the rabbit receptionist said from behind the desk.

"Uuuggghhh...thanks." I said, walking over to where Nick was sitting.

"So where is he?" Nick asked.

"In Zootopia."

"Well, What do I do with this?" Nick said holding up the wingsuit and bag of parts to it.

"Just hold onto it for now. But put the glasses in here." Holding out a black bag for glasses.

"But I can't just put this on my back and carry it with us." Nick said, dropping the glasses in the bag.

"Well, where could we put it?"

"How about the police station."

"No, someone might activate it and that could be disastrous."

"How about your parents house?"

"NO WAY!"

"Carrots you need to talk to them about this. After what happened they won't dare touch this thing."

"NO."

"Where else are we going to put this?"

"I don't know but were not going my fa-father's hou-house." I said, starting to cry.

"Judy What's wrong?"

"My fa-fa-father, Tha-that's what's wrong."

" _Sigh_ , Judy Until you ask him why he shot Elliot, you'll never know."

"I kn-kn-know."

"Oh you bunnies. So emotional." He said pulling me into a hug.

Nick said continuing to comfort me as I wept into his chest. After sobbing for a while I heard something.

" _Whatever happens next, Thank you for trying."_

I opened my eyes and looked behind Nick. I saw flickering lights all up and down the dimly lit hall and what looked like an outline of Elliot.

"Elliot?"

In an instant the lights stopped flickering and the figure dissipated.

"Nick, did you see that?"

"See what?"

"The lights were flickering. . . Elliot, I saw him." I said, looking dumbfounded down the hall.

Nick looked down at me with concern. "Are you okay Carrots?"

"I'm being serious Nick." With my hands on my hips.

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

"Were losing him. Charge to four hundred."

I opened my eyes and found myself standing in a dark hallway somewhere I was unfamiliar with.

"Where am I?"

"You're in a hospital."

I looked around me and found no one there.

"Who said that?"

"Turn around."

I turned around to see myself in full dress white uniform.

"What are you?"

"I'm your...let's say Guardian."

"Then why didn't you GUARD me, from this?" pointing to my wound. "And why do you look like me?" waving my hand at the creature.

"To make things simple of course."

"Suuurrre. So what do you want?"

"To warn you About what's to come."

We were instantly transported on top of some sort of spiraling skyscraper, overlooking a city in flames. The sky was filled with dark smoke, most likely from the various gas fires I could see.

"What happened?"

"You did, Your arrival sparks a divide in this city that will tear it apart."

"How do I cause all this?"

"What makes you think I'm here to tell you that?"

"You must be here to tell me something of value if you've broken the space time continuum." Waving a hand at the burning city below.

"Ya-know. You were always to blunt with things, you need more finesse." he said pinching three fingers together and shaking them.

"Diverting the topic won't work with me, But you know that Don't you." I said.

"You're no fun. Never willing to play the game."

"Oh I'll play the game if I know I can win. And I know I can't win this game, so I don't play." I said smiling.

"Very well Joshua, no game."

"That's not my name."

"No it's not, at least not since the incident anyway." The guardian replied with his hands clasped behind his back, admiring the city.

"Leave them out of it."

"That's hard since it has everything to do with them. I never understood why you changed your name after they died. Was it to distance yourself from what happened, I do wonder why you came here. Was is because of what happened to your wife? Do you blame yourself?"

"You already know this." I said studying the city, trying not to let him get to me.

"No, I only know what has happened physically. Not what you're thinking. . . Anyway, you have to stop sending messages or The people of this world will try to destroy the communications relay along with you, and being the tactician you are, will utterly annihilate them."

"I wouldn't kill them over something like that."

"Not now, but after sending a few messages people start to panic. And when people panic they act out of fear. Trying to put a mandatory sanction on you even being in the city."

"So what do I do?"

"Act like a civilian, stop using your tech for fun, and get a job. I'd try to repair the generations of distrust among predators and prey."

"Is there anything else you want to show me?"

"Oh we've just begun Joshua, there is much to discuss."

"Stop calling me that."

"What if I don't?"

". . . I imagine I can't really do anything, can I?"

"No, you can't." he said in taunting tone.

We were transported back to the hallway, but this time Nick and Judy were in it.

"What does this have to do with them?"

"They're very important in all this. They must die for what they know." Looking at the two animals hugging.

"Very well." I said, slightly saddened because of what I had to do.

"You really are heartless, aren't you."

"I'm not heartless, but I know that them dying to save the city is better than the city dying to save them."

"I was joking to get a reaction out of you. I didn't expect to hear this though."

"Well it's the logical thing to do."

"Make that two things you need to work on, your finesse and thinking with your heart instead of your head." he said tapping his heart with a finger.

"MOVING ON."

"Fine fine. They actually can't die, no matter what."

"Why is that?"

"What fun would that be if you knew everything."

"Well you seem to know everything."

"BAAANT, wrong answer. I only know what happens if I'm told."

" _Sigh_ … Are we done yet." I said in a bored tone.

"Ya-know, other people are way more enthusiastic about this happening."

"I'm not other people."

"BUZZ KILL ALERT! Attention all shoppers, attention, all shoppers. We have a buzz kill on isle three." Making a megaphone by cupping his hands.

"UGH. Fine I'll try to lighten up."

"That's more like it." The Guardian said smiling.

"What do you want to divine to me oh great Guardian clone of me." I had bent down to my knees fake bowing to him.

"If this is your attempt to lighten up it needs work." crossing his arms.

"I couldn't help myself."

"At least you're trying." he said uncrossing his arms.

"Thank you oh great one, for blessing my comedy. Can we move back on track."

"I suppose. Your technology can't fall into any hands besides your own."

"That makes sense. If they reverse engineered my tech it would destabilize the balance of technological advancement."

"That's not what I was going to say at all. BUT nice try… When someone takes a pod you reacquire it by force, which only adds to the panic of the city."

"Who's the someone?"

"I can't tell you that, now can I."

"So what do I do?"

"That's your job."

"What isn't my job." I thought about my time in the navy.

"Yeah you seem to do it all don't you." He said, chuckling.

"So, what do you really look like?"

"Oh look at the time, say something to one of them if you wish, but the doctor's are running out of tries to revive you. So make it quick." He said tapping an invisible watch.

"You're terrible, ya-know that."

"Are you going to say something or not." Waving at the crying Judy.

As I walked towards Judy the lights around me started to flicker.

"Whatever happens next, Thank you for trying." I softly said.

Judy lifted her head and looked in my direction almost as if she could see me.

"Elliot?"

"Okay time's up, it's time to go. I'll catch ya in ur dreams."

"Hey can she see me?" Pointing to Judy.

My question went unanswered as the Guardian touched my shoulder. Sending everything into darkness.

* * *

-=Nick Pov=-

"I'm being serious Nick."

"What did you eat last?" I asked.

"Nick I'm fine. I'm telling you, I saw Elliot and I heard him say something to me."

"What did he say?" Crossing my arms.

"Thanks for trying. . . I think."

"You're really not joking, are you."

"No, in fact, I'm going to call the hospital and ask how he's doing." She said pulling out her phone.

I tried to convince Judy not to but it was useless. When the phone was answered she put it on speaker.

"Tundra Town medical, how may I help you?" A rather deep male voice answered.

"Hi this is officer Hopps, ZPD. I need an Update on a patient that was transferred to you sometime last night."

"Sure thing Officer. What's the patient's name."

"Elliot, no last name, but he sustained a gunshot wound to the stomach."

"Okay just a moment….We have him right here officer. He's currently in a coma."

"Thanks. I have one more odd question."

"What's that?"

"Did he within the last twenty to thirty minutes need to be revived."

"How did you know that, it happened less than five minutes ago." The person said in a whisper.

"Just a guessthanksbye." She Said, quickly hanging up the phone.

"Fine...you win." I said.

"Nick. . . I may have seen his ghost." Ears laid back.

"Uhhh Carrots." I said pointing behind her.

"If I was right, how would he do that?" Judy Said tapping her chin.

"What were you right about?" Judy instantly stopped tapping her finger and turned around.


	6. Chapter 6: Captivity

_**A/N: You're almost there, don't give up now. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel... "Hmm, maybe it's a train."**_

* * *

 _Chapter Six_

 _While conflict is inevitable, Moving past our differences is not._

* * *

"Dad! what are you doing here!?" Judy yelled angry at her father.

"I came to see if he's okay." Stu said, his voice full of sadness and regret.

"Oh Elliot's doing just fine, he was only SHOT. Why would you do that!?"

Before Stu could reply, Judy continued her yelling, eventually earning stairs form passerby's.

"Judy." Stu said but was ignored.

"He didn't do anything to you and y-y-you just shot him!"

"Judy...Judy….JUDY! I thought he was going to hurt someone."

"Why would you think that, all he did was land!"

"JUDY I've lost to many babies to take a chance. I can't aff-afford to take any chances." Stu said, starting to tear up. Judy was instant taken aback by what her father had said. Over the years Judy had lost several of her Brothers and sisters to predatory birds.

"Dad, I….. I'm sorry for getting mad."

"I know Judes… I'm sorry for shooting your strange friend." He said as Judy pulld Stu into a forgiving hug. "How's he doing?"

"He was moved to Zootopia but the doctors don't think he'll make it."

Stu stood in silence. _"What have I done."_ He thought. "I feel sick. I need to sit down."

"Stu there you. . .Judy. . . How's he doing?" Bonnie asked.

"Not good."

The four made for the reception area to sit down. Once everyone was sitting, Nick started to mess with The G Suits' control panel.

"Nick, I don't think that's a good idea." Judy warned.

"I know, but it's really cool." Nick replied, putting the display back in the bag of Elliot's stuff.

"So, what is he?" Bonnie asked.

"He's an alien from across the galaxy." Nick said, waving his arms to indicate a vast distance.

"Are you sure, that's and awful long way." Bonnie asked.

"That's what he said." Nick replied, Shrugging his shoulders.

"Is he dangerous?" She asked.

"Is he dangerous, sure..."

"NICK." Judy hissed. While smacking his gut.

"You didn't let me finish. Is he dangerous, yes. But will he be a danger to others, I don't think so. Also he has total control of his emotions, it's amazing."

"What do you mean?" Bonnie asked.

"He cried on command, and it fooled both of us."

"That's. . . Interesting." Bonnie said with uncertainty.

"Judy, I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but we need to report to the sheriff, we're late." Nick said as he stood up.

" _Sigh_ ….okay."

Judy said goodbye to her parents, then started catching up to Nick, who was already walking to the exit with Elliot's pack.

"I guess This can just sit in the car." Nick said, holding the wingsuit.

"I suppose so, but we should figure out where this stuff goes." Judy said, holding up the bag of parts.

"I'll take a look on the way over." Nick said.

"Nu-uh I get to look at it." Judy said trying to grab the suit from Nick.

"Carrots it weighs a lot. I don't think you can carry it. Besides, that would mean I would be driving."

"That won't work Nick, give it here." Judy said holding out her arms.

"Okay. But I warned you." Nick said putting the pack on the ground for Judy.

Nick watched at Judy as she struggled to pick up the wingsuit.

"Carrots that thing's bigger than you are, you sure you don't want me to carry it?"

"I'm...hhnngg...Sure." Judy said finally managing to lug the pack onto her back.

When they Reached the exit of the hospital they realized their car was still at the Hopps farm.

" _Sigh_... Could you call the sheriff's station and ask for a ride?"

"Could I, Yes, yes I could. . . . . . Yes hello, this is officer Wild calling from the Bunnyburrow medical center. Can you send a car to pick us up and take us to the station, ours is. . . Unavailable right now….Great thanks."

"How long?"

"Twenty minutes."

"Ugh. Let's as least start to look at Elliot's suit." Judy said dropping the pack. In the shade of a tree.

"Careful Carrots, it's not ours."

"Sorry. . . Look it didn't even scratch the paint." Judy said pointing to the spot where the suit hit the ground. "What do you think this means?" pointing at a large curvy symbol on the center on the pack.

"I swear I've seen that before. I think it means unity or friendship, or uhh umm, I don't remember."

As the two looked over the suit there were no compartment's to be found.

"I'm about to give up." Nick said.

"Come on Nick, it's only been ten minutes."

"Okay you keep looking at that, and I'll look at this." He said holding the arm panel.

"Really." She said shooting Nick a glare.

"Well I saw him touch something on this before he took off."

As Nick looked at the blank display he found a button on the side. Once he pressed the button it turned on the display to reveal a bunch of buttons with figures on them.

"Look, this must have something to do with it." Nick said, pointing to the screen.

"Even if you're right, we have no idea how to use it."

"How hard could it be." Shrugging his shoulders.

"Famous last words of Nick Wilde right here."

"Whatever Carrots. How about this one." Nick pressed a button and the wings unfolded knocking over Judy.

"Nope. Sorry carrots." Nick said, while trying not to laugh. He pressed the button again and the wings retracted. As they retracted the pack turned to a gray Multicam from the green it was.

"Niiiiick." Judy said pointing to the color changing pack

"It's just like his G suit!" Nick said, touching the new color.

"I wonder how it works?" She asked.

"We're defiantly going to ask him."

"Hmmm, how about this one." Nick pressed another button and the jet engines started.

"NO nono, not that one." Nick quickly turned off the thrusters just as the pack started to move.

"Nick let me look." Judy said grabbing at the display.

"Hold on, I think I have it. Each button has a symbol on it and it describes a function. When the wings opened I pressed a button that looked like wings and it was the same with the jet engines."

Judy gave Nick a look of skepticism.

No really, see this looks like a gun." Nick said holding up the panel to Judy.

"Nick, don't...you...dare." Judy said.

"I know, I know, give me some credit Fluff."

The two continued to look at the display until they found a button that looked like a box. Judy pressed the button and a small door opened where the symbol is on the back of the pack, revealing a few photos and four ring's.

"Who do you think this is?" Nick said, holding up a photo of Elliot and a woman standing next to him, both in dress white uniforms.

"I don't know but look at their right sides. They have So many medals. . . Hey, I recognize some of these!" Judy exclaimed.

"Well don't leave me hanging."

"OH sorry. This is a purple heart."

"No kidding. Now what's it called?"

"It's Called a PURPLE HEART, silly. It means he was injured in battle. They both have one." Judy said pointing to the two in the photo.

"That would make sense. His entire chest is covered in scars. So what do the rest mean?"

"I'm not sure about these. but this kind of resembles the medal of honor."

"That sounds fancy. So how do I get one?"

"You and I probably won't ever get one. It's only awarded for acts beyond the call of duty."

"Wow. . . Elliot really did a lot for his country."

"Nick, he might be. . ." Judy stopped mid sentence looking at the picture.

"What is it Carrots?"

"Nick. . . This is a prisoner of war medal." Judy said pointing to the black medal.

"Are you sure? It could just be a coincidence."

"You might be right." She said with her ears laid back.

"Wait, they give out an award for failing?" Nick said with a raised eyebrow.

"Really Nick." Judy said, smacking Nicks chest.

"These kind of look like wedding rings." holding all four rings. "Hey they all have the same symbol as the backpack engraved in them." Nick said tapping the black engraved symbol with a claw.

"Nick this isn't right to look his stuff." Judy said putting one of the photos back into the compartment.

"Carrots, I think the other person might be his wife." Nick said putting a different photo back.

"Maybe, but it's not right to look at this." She said grabbing the rings from Nick, and putting them back.

The two continued to look at the display after closing the compartment.

"How about this one?" Judy said, pointing to another box.

"Maybe." He said as Judy pressed the button.

This time two compartments opened that were correct size for the glasses and ear buds. Judy began putting them into their respective compartments.

"Why would he come here if he has a wife?" Nick asked in a somber tone.

"I don't know...Maybe she..."

As Judy finished closing the compartment to the ear buds she started crying.

"Maybe she d-died."

"Judy don't say that. There could be hundreds of reasons to why he came here."

"Think about it Nick! Th-the scars, the sh-ship, and n-n-now THIS."

As Nick thought about everything, the picture became more clear.

"He came here to escape his past." His ears now flat against his head.

"And all we-we've done is m-m-make things worse." Judy said burying her head into Nick's chest.

Nick started so say something but was interrupted by a large Brown bear.

"Ma'am is everything okay here?"

"Y-yes." She said letting go of Nick.

"You don't need to be afraid. If the fox did something to you ma'am, I can handle it."

"I didn't do anything." Nick said.

"Sure you didn't, Fox."

"Everything is fine, just please leave us alone." Judy said.

"Ma'am you can tell me what happened."

"Hey, she said leave us alone." Nick was starting to get mad a the bear.

"Shut up FOX."

The bear continued to talk to Judy as Nick flipped through the settings on the control panel. He found what he was looking so he pulled out the goggles, put them on and pressed two buttons on the display. The pack deployed the lasers and aimed at the bear.

"Retinal tracking enabled."

" _Yes, got it right._ Hey! last chance to leave." Nick said with his finger hovering over the fire button

"Alright that's it, you're leav..." the bear stopped mid sentence as he turned around to see the lasers charging up.

"Wow take it easy you psycho."

The backpack was laying flat against the ground with the lasers spun around backward to aim at the nine foot bear.

"Nick, this isn't necessary" Judy said now holding onto one of Nick's arms.

The bear started backing away from Nick and was reaching behind his back.

"Don't do it." Nick said.

"HE'S Got A Gun!" Judy yelled.

 **Phzzeew.**

After Nick fired the laser the Bear fell over unconscious.

"Emergency recharge, active."

The pack retracted the lasers and deployed the wings, knocking Judy over again. As this unfolded the sheriff's car was just pulling up so they saw the lasers fire and turned on the sirens.

"This Is the Bunnyburrow Sheriff's department, Put your hands in the air."

"We're officers, lower your weapons." Judy said holding up her badge as she stood up.

One officer confirmed that Judy's badge was real while another arrested the bear.

That's a pretty good introduction I'd say, name's Bill Constantine, but you can call me Bill."

Nick watched as a Brown Jackrabbit with brown eyes, a little shorter than him, walked up.

"Nice to meet you Bill My name's Nick Wilde and this is Judy."

"Well that's quite the weapon there officer Wilde, Where'd ya get it?"

"It's a uhh, friend's invention." Nick said.

"Well I'll need to meet this mammal." Bill said looking at the wings.

"He's in Zootopia right now." Nick said.

"Oh, well if he ever comes out, tell him ta stop by" Bill said.

"Suurre." Nick said in a hesitant tone.

"Well, we better head down to the station." Bill said.

"What about him." Judy pointed to the bear who was still laying on the ground.

"The other Sheriff's can handle it." Bill said waving a paw.

"So does this thing shrink somehow?" Bill asked looking at pack with it's wings extended.

"It does but something happened and it's not responding. Can it fit in the car like this?" Nick asked while putting the goggles away.

"Well only one way ta find out." He replied while opening the back of the police SUV.

"Hey, Do you by chance recognize this symbol." Judy said tapping the pack.

"Uhh, yeah. It's a trinity symbol. It stands for a bunch of things."

"Do you know what?" Nick asked.

"Mainly, it's for the father, son, and spirit, In Pawstianity. But It can mean anything really."

"Ok" Judy said thinking about the symbol. ". . . Well, let's get this thing loaded up."

After trying for ten minutes the three finally fit the wingsuit into the car. So they left for the sheriff's station.

* * *

-==1 Day later==-

-=Elliot Pov=-

" _GA_ _SSSSPP_ _P_. . .Poú eínai Judy?" _Where's Judy?_ I said in Greek.

Once my eyes had focused, I looked around the brightly lit room and found all sorts of medical equipment. After noticing the many tubes and wires running to my chest and arms, I decided I was going to sit up. Upon trying this maneuver, I found my entire upper body in pain.

"Ítan óla éna óneiro?" _Was It all a dream?_

Giving up in my endeavor to sit up, I resumed my study of the room. On the right wall laid an open bathroom door towards the side I was laying on and a closed door in the far corner. The wall adjacent to my bed had a large desk with cupboards above and below it that took up the entire wall from the mid point to the left. Above the cubbords on the desk had a wall mounted flat-screen TV that was shut off. What would be the right wall happened to be a nine by nine panel grid of glass. In front of the large window sat three rather uncomfortable hospital chairs. The wall I was laying in front of housed multiple types of medical machinery. To my right was a EKG readout and a pair of defibrillators. To the left was a IV bag, an unused ventilator and a small rolling table, which I presumed was for the patients belongings.

Once I had thoroughly inspected the room, I turned my attention to the window.

"Chióni. . . ópou eímai egó?" _Snow… where am I?_

Starting to become concerned with my predicament of possibly being captured, I looked for a way to contact someone. I looked to my right, finding a red alarm button built into the hospital bed.

"Giatí óchi?" _Why not?_ I said, trying to shrug my shoulders but failing.

Just as my finger touched the alarm, the handle on the far door started to move. Seeing this, I quickly retracted my arm and closed my eyes while two set's of footsteps walked in, followed by the door shutting.

"So do we know what he is yet?" A female voice said from the left side of the bed.

"No, but people are using _a_ _lien_." Came from the right side of the bed, also female.

"He could be an alien I suppose, but He doesn't look like one."

"And what would an alien look like Jacqueline?"

"I Don't know, but I just didn't think an alien would look like that." Jacqueline replied.

"So what's the most interesting thing about him?"

"Well I think his arm…. No his scars are the most interesting thing about him. I mean thirty percent of his body is covered in them."

"I wonder if he's considered handsome wherever he's from."

"Kate, are you suggesting that you think he's cute?"

"Naa, I think it's more, me being curious about how he works than anything. How bout you?'

"I don't know, he's not bad looking but I think I would like to meet him before signing off on that."

"Oh my gosh you think he's hot don't you."

" _That was u-"_ I started to think.

"I do not!" Jacqueline hissed back.

"Your ears say otherwise."

" _I'm freaking out man."_ I said in my head, thinking of that ancient joke.

"Fine maybe I do think he's cute."

"I knew it." Kate said with a victorious tone.

"Can we PLEASE just do our job now." Jacqueline Replied ruefully.

"Ok, Iv bag looks good, what's his pulse."

"Eighty two and rising."

"Do you think he can hear us?" Jacqueline said.

"No, he's not suppose to wake up for a few days."

"But his pulse is higher than before."

"Maybe it's normal Jacqueline, we don't know how his body works. . . I bet you'd like to find out though."

"Stop it. It's not funny." Jacqueline said. I could tell from her voice she was embarrassed.

Silence fell in the room for a while, except the monotonous sound of my heartbeat on the EKG. I contemplated opening my eyes a few times, but I figured that I would be better if I didn't.

"I'll give you twenty dollars if you kiss him."

"What!?"

" _Ok that's enough"_ I thought while opening my eyes. Immediately, I shot my robotic arm to the nearest appendage.

"That's not happening." I said in a raspy voice while looking to my left, seeing a snow leopard jump in surprise as I clamped onto her wrist.

"AH! shhiit...Get the doctor." She said to the cheetah, also on my left.

"Got it." The cheetah said while dashing to the door, leaving me with the Snow leopard.

 _" _I Guess it wasn't a dream."__

"Uhuu...Do you mind." She said while tapping my wrist; I let go and an awkward silence fell between us for a few seconds. "How long were you awake?"

"Long enough to hear you're friend barrage you." I said while looking at the cat, quickly noticing her ears turn red.

"This is awkward now."

"Yep."

Once again, a silence fell upon the room that seemed to last forever. I was saved however, when the door swung open and a lion walked in.

"Nurse prepare thirty CC's of Melatonin."

I watched as the snow leopard walked to a table and started doing something I couldn't see.

"Where am I?" I asked while watching the very large animal walk over to the table with the snow leaopard.

"You're In a hospital…. It seems you've woken up way sooner than we anticipated."

"Poú eínai Wilde kai Hopps?"

"I'm sorry?" The lion asked, looking over his shoulder at me.

"I said, Where is Wilde and Hopps."

"I haven't heard of them before, sorry." The loin said while walking over to my IV with a syringe in hand.

"You're not giving me that." I said, pointing at the syringe.

"It's for the pain." He replied.

"Melatonin is a chemical for sleeping, and I'm not taking it.".

"Don't do it." I warned.

The doctor was fiddling with the line and preparing to inject the solution into my IV line, and I had come up with a plan to avoid the injection. I was going to grab the back of his neck with my right hand while I swiped the syringe with my left and inject the Sedative into his neck. Once I tried to execute this though, I found my right arm was unable to move. In the process of trying to regain control of my arm, the lion had already started to inject the syringe.

"No." I pleaded grabbing his arm with my left one.

"Sorry but this is what the officers instructed me to do." He said, removing the empty syringe from the IV. The doctor whispered something into the leopards ear before walking out.

As my vision blurred I started to feel the effects of the drug. "I dndnt doooo anythinnn."

"I'll check up on you frequently, don't worry." The leopard said, standing close to me on the left side of the bed.

"Alpha x-rrrrraaayyy twwooo. . ." I said feeling my conciseness slipping as I was unable to finish my sentence.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. Just relax an-" She said, her voice becoming more and more incoherent as time went by, eventually fading into nothingness.

* * *

-==2 days later==-

"Ti synévi. . . sostá. Ótan paírno sta chéria mou aftó to liontári." I said in a groggy voice as I opened my eyes.

"What was that?" A voice asked from across the room.

". . .Who are you?" I said as my eyes came into focus, looking at the same snow leopard.

"Name's Jacqueline. Sorry about the sedative thing."

"Wuut." I groaned while rubbing my eyes with my left arm.

"So what did you say?"

"I said. When I get my hands on that lion."

"Don't be mad at him. Stan's just doing his job." Jacqueline said while messing with something on the counter across the room.

"Yeah yeah. So did you make sure I wasn't experimented on."

"Huh ohh uhh. Yeah" She said, abashed.

"Mmmm. . . What happened?" I asked suspiciously.

"Don't worry about it. Ya-know, I never got your name." She said while walking over to the right side of the bed.

"Elliot."

"Ok, Sooo. . . what did you here between me and Kate?"

"Who's Kate?"

"The Cheetah from a few days ago."

"Ahh, I think I was awake before you walked in, so all of it." I replied nonchalantly.

"This is awkward now." Jacqueline said.

"I remember you said that the first time."

"Well it's back, Ok." She snipped back. After a few seconds of me staring at her, I realized that She was blushing.

"Hmmm."

"Hmm what, and could you not stair at me."

"Sorry, but I'm going to have to decline that request. You probably stared at me while I was asleep."

"I did not." She mumbled back.

"I don't mind it, but you can't expect me to not study an interesting creature such as yourself. Wait, that didn't come out right."

"Ha Ha, very funny. As if there isn't another snow leopard out there. You're the special one."

"Well I've never seen another talking species before coming here, and you're the first snow leopard, so that makes you special."

"R-Really." She replied with a smile creeping up on her face.

"Yeah." I said apprehensively. After a few seconds of the Jacqueline silently looking at the EKG readout, her smile dropped quite suddenly.

"Wait a minute, you said you've never seen another talking species before. How could that be, I mean, where could you possibly be from that doesn't have another species on mammal?"

"Weellll, I'm not from your planet. Please don't just dismiss me as crazy."

"Really! I can't wait To post this on Furbook." She exclaimed while pulling out her PDA and holding it up in the air. I could see her face and me laying on the bed on the screen.

"What are you doing?"

"Duh, taking a selfie with an Alien. OOH, I'm gonna get like a million like with this one." She said while furiously tapping on her phone.

"NO!… I uh, sorry, I just don't want to draw attention to myself."

"Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but everyone in Zootopia knows about you." She replied, having stopped typing.

"Thavmásios. Uh, I don't suppose you could still NOT put that on Galnet, or what ever equivalent you have here." I said frowning.

"Huh?" She said tilting her head.

"Ummmm. . . internet?" I said, hoping that she would know what that was.

"Not the Galnet thing, what you said in the other language."

"Sorry. I said Wonderful."

"Ohh. What language is that?"

"We call it Greek."

"Really? We have a language called Greek too."

"mmm. . . So could you not post it?"

"I suppose so, but you're picture's been on every new station already, so it would be kinda pointless. There's actually a protest happening outside."

"How bad?"

"MMM, the worst thing 's probably the group demanding your execution."

"heh heh, Just like old times."

"WHAT!?" Jacqueline asked sitting on the end of the bed.

"I uhh…..It's kind of normal for people to be trying to kill me. Only, usually they have space ships, not signs."

"Oh...So um, how'd you get the scars all over your body?"

"That's. . . That's not gonna happen." I replied with squinted eyes

"Oh, ok" She said quietly. "well they look like they hurt. Especially the ones by your umm." Her ears turned bright red as she pointed to my waist.

"You di- and I th-. . . UGGHH, why?" I demanded, turning red with embarrassment.

"Well the uhh, stitches go almost to that spot and it's my job to clean the wound annnnd."

"I get it, I get it, just stop. . . . I don't suppose I can clean and change the bandage myself can I?" I said with may face bright red.

"No you can't. WOW, I've never seen someone's face turn so red." She said, staring at my face intently.

"It just means I'm really embarrassed. So...When does it need to be cleaned again?"

"Um let me check." Jacqueline stood up and walked over to the table across the room. After a minute of flipping through a pile of papers, she spoke up. "According to this, it's in three days."

"Lovely."

"Yep, I get that a lot." She said while sitting back down on the side of the bed. "So, I don't mean to be rude of anything, but why are you here?"

"I guessing you mean why am I on your planet and not, why am I in the hospital."

"Yeah."

"Well, I can't say much, but I'm here to test stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Communications and transportation equipment. It's classified." I replied with a smirk.

"Ok, so was that you that made the laser shoot into space?"

"Shhhhhiiiiiiit, h-How many people saw that?" I said with worry.

"Almost the entire city. Everyone thinks it's a weapon."

"Do you think it's a weapon?" I wondered.

"I don't know. But it kinda looked like one."

"Well it's not. that's the communications relay."

"Oh, so does it use encoded light to send whatever message needs to be transmitted?"

"Yeah, how did you know that." I asked with a fair amount surprise.

"I'm studying advanced technologies in college. I didn't think it was really possible."

"Now you have your answer."

There was a long pause before anything else was said. Jacqueline did a few things with the medical equipment, then sat down on a chair by the window.

"Elliot."

"Hmm."

"I have a kinda strange question."

"Yeah, sure." I said with closed eyes.

"Can-can I look at you."

"I think it's safe to say that you already did a whole lot more than that." I jested.

"I DID NOT." She shrieked back.

"Jeez, I was just kidding. Yeah, you can take a look at me. IF, I get to look at you afterwords."

"Deal."

Jacqueline stood up and pulled the sheet like blanket off me, immediately starting at my feet. "So how could have your ancestors walked on for feet. You're legs are way longer than your arms."

"Simple, we didn't walk on all fours, to my knowledge anyway."

"Okay, not a very good start. . . How did your fur get this short and thin." Jacqueline asked pointing to my legs and arms.

"Firstly It's called hair, it's at it's full length. There's just as many hairs as what you have, It's just way more fine."

"Ok, so what about this hair?" Now pointing to my head.

"Different story, this hair can grow pretty long but I keep moderate, and combed back."

"What about the hair on your face?"

"Huh what are yo- Oh, I must need to shave. It's called a beard." I said, feeling the stubble on my face. Jacqueline then reached to my head and pointed to my ear.

"How do you hear anything with those, they're tiny."

"Really, that's like asking me how come you have a tail. I can hear just fine, thank you. You can probably hear better but, ehh who cares."

" . . . So are you a mammal?" She asked with a paw on her chin.

"Proudly."

"Oh I almost forgot. What happened to your left arm?" She said, pointing to said arm.

I Whined slightly at the mention of my arm. "When did you notice?" I said while rubbing my fake forearm.

"When I tried to put an IV in that arm, the needle broke. So what happened?" She said, Gesturing to the arm again.

"A rotor blade from an airplane cut it off. So I got this one." Waving it around.

"Its-Its incredible! After I found out, I asked my Boss, who couldn't even find where It's attached."

"You wanna see?" I asked with a slight chuckle about how I thought it was just a normal thing, and she probably thought that is was unfathomable technology.

"YES!"

"Calm down. You'll need to pull it off though." I said, pressing a few spots on the arm, making a display show through the skin.

"That's really cool." Jacqueline Said, now on the left side of the bed, looking at the display hidden in the arm.

I pressed one of the illuminated buttons on the display, causing The arm to make a clicking sound at my shoulder. "OK, pull it straight off. But be careful, it's kind of heavy." I said holding my arm out, level with my shoulder.

"Gasp. . . it's your entire arm." Jacqueline said while looking at the entire arm pop off my body. After she looked at the lifeless arm for a few minutes, I had what I thought to be a funny idea.

"Mmhmm. You want to see something freaky?" I asked, Smiling mischievously.

"YES!" Jacqueline said with massive amounts of enthusiasm.

"Hold the hand by your face."

"Uhh ok." She said, holding the robotic hand close to her face while squinting.

"Boop." I said, poking her nose with the detached arm.

"EEEP!" She started giggling.

"It's wired into my brain stem, So I can control it from a few hundred feet away" I said wiggling the whole hand.

"Stop it. It's freaking me out." She said playfully.

"Oookayyyy" I reluctantly said as I stopped moving my hand.

"So what powers it?" She asked while examining the chrome connection on the arm.

"A battery. It can last up to three months before needing to recharge."

"B-B-But it's a battery." Almost dropping the arm.

"Careful!" I shouted, making the arm grab onto her wrist.

"Sorry! Um, you can let go now." She said, Pointing to my hand clamping to her wrist. A few more minutes went by of Jacqueline quietly looking at the arm and where it attached to my shoulder.

"Are you done looking?"

"Umm, I think so."

"Ok so just line the slots up and push the arm in." Jacqueline lined up the arm with my socket and started to push inward like she was trying to reset a dislocation.

"Am I doing it right?"

"Yep" Once she pushed the arm in a certain distance It automatically locked into place with a click. "So, do you have any more questions?" I asked while moving the arm around to make sure it was locked correctly.

"Hmmmm… What's your special attributes?"

"That's a good one. My hands are very good at manipulating things, Annnd uhh, that's about it." I said while shrugging my shoulders.

"That can't be it, what about eyesight or hearing. How about balance? You have to be natu-"

"DON'T rub it in." I interrupted. "You would be better at all three of those things, I guarantee it. Look, were I'm from, we're the only smart species on the planet so that would be are attribute, which kind of passes onto here because humans are centuries ahead of you in technology."

"Are you Really that much more advanced?" She said with skepticism.

"I traveled forty five thousand light years to get here and it took less than a minute. . . I'm sure."

"Well aren't you fancy." Jacqueline said playfully.

"Very." I said smugly.

Jacqueline continued to ask me questions about various things for a few minutes. Most of which I couldn't answer due to the technological sharing law established in the twenty eight hundred's.

"Okay mister spaceman, your turn."

"Paw please?" I asked, holding out my hand.

"Okay why do you need...EEEP" Jacqueline held back laughter as I messed with her paw.

" _Seems very similar to snow leopards on earth."_

"how do you cool off?"

"Sweating out of my paws and panting." What she said made me cringe internally. "What's wrong?" Jacqueline asked.

"Panting makes me cringe. Uuughhh, just thinking about it makes me shiver."

"Well Now I know what to do if you make me mad." She replied smugly.

"Plz don't. . . Can I see your tail?"

"Umm… I'd rather not."

"Oh, is that something kind of personal here."

"Yeeeaaah."

"Ok, well do you have total control of it?"

"Yep." She said, moving it all around.

"Interesting. So are your ears less personal?"

"I guess." She said, shrugging her shoulders.

I gestured Jacqueline to come closer so I could look at her ears. Once she was in range, I snapped my fingers by her ears to make them twitch. "Almost done." I then scratched her ears to see if she would have a reaction. "And how does this feel?"

"It feels….nice."

She then put a paw on my arm, holding it so I would keep scratching her ear.

" _This is really odd."_

"Purrrr purrr purrrrr."

"OK, I think that answers my question." I said pulling my arm back and rubbing it.

"Huh, what happened." I noticed her ears turning red.

"Did I just do something I shouldn't have?" I asked while suspiciously squinting.

"Yeeeaaah. Um how did you do that?"

"First, are you mad?" I asked apprehensively while continuing to scratch my arm due to the situation.

"Not really mad so much as interested. I've never made that sound in my life."

"Really?" I asked with doubt.

"Yeah, so how did you do it?"

"Hmmm. Could just be the magic of the human touch. And NO, I'm not joking."

"That could be an attribute, right?" Jacqueline said while sitting down in a chair by the window.

"I don't think so. Look, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I'm pretty tired."

"I should probably get back to checking on patients anyway. so I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Yeah You. . . you do that." I said, lost in thought.

I gave Jacqueline a warm smile as she left the small room, closing the door as she went. I Quickly found myself thinking about the dream I had. The thing is, is that is was so vivid that it couldn't just be a figment of my imagination. I continued to think about the troubling topic until I drifted to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7: Recovery

__Chapter Seven:__ _ _Recovery__

 _ _If people are informed they will do the right thing. It's when they aren't informed that they become hostages to prejudice.__

* * *

-==Three days later==-

"Uuuhhhh."

"Oh you're awake."

"No, I'm Just making noise in my sleep." I said, looking out the window, noticing it was night.

"Well you've been asleep for three days." Jacqueline was standing in front the counter-top, pulling out various things. She was wearing the same light blue pants and shirt as the first time I saw her.

"What time is it?"

"Umm, 6:30 P.M" She replied.

"Woooo." I said very groggy. " _Wait wasn't the bandage change in three days._ Please tell me you already changed the bandage."

"Nope, that's why I'm in here." She said, snapping on latex gloves.

"Of course you are. Ya-sure I can't do it, I know how to." I said with little hope.

"No, I have to do it. Hospital policy." She said while smirking.

"Hey I can see you smiling over there, this isn't funny."

"Yeah it is. Now just relax while I disinfect the wound." She said while walking to the right side of the bed.

"But I have fifteen years of medical training." Trying do delay the inevitable.

"Can you prove it. I Didn't think so." She said with a victorious tone. Jacqueline pulled off the thin white blanket on me, Then undid my blue, dotted with white, hospital gown, leaving me ninety five percent naked.

"Just… get it over with." I said in a deadpan tone as she sprayed the disinfectant.

"Sorry, I forgot to mention the disinfectant hurts."

"Ya-don't say." I replied In a high pitch, sarcastic tone while I tilted my head a little to the right.

Then Jacqueline folded the hospital gown down further, to apply the bandage. And as she dressed the wound, she became dangerously close to my parts.

 _"_ _ _If I have to be uncomfortable, so does she."__ _I thought._ "Listen, while the bandage change is all and good, I don't think you're a urologist. So quit eyeing the goods."

". . .Y-Y-Y-Y." Jacqueline tried to say something, but was unable. And I thought it was mirthful.

I tried to hold back laughter, but eventually chortled a little. " Hehehe. . . Oww." I said, wincing in pain and shortly after wiping a tear from my eye. Jacqueline had stopped her work and was looking at me with a mixture of rage, embarrassment, and something else that I couldn't quite pick up on.

"B-B-But why!?" She almost demanded.

"Because, If I have to be totally embarrassed, so do you." I said, smiling.

"Rrrrrrr, it's not funny." She said, totally flustered.

"And I didn't think it was funny five minutes ago, but someone else did. Now will you please muster up the courage to finish my bandage, because after all, I'm incapable." I said, smirking at Jacqueline because I knew I was victorious in my efforts to embarrass her. The next few minutes were spent in silence while Jacqueline applied the new bandage

"Almost done." She said, while trying to keep her paws as far away from my genitals as possible.

"It wouldn't be the first time this happened."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the other scars down there didn't heal without stitches."

"Oh." Jacqueline said, having finished the bandages and covered me back up.

"Hey, I'm sorry if I took it to far with the joke." I said while slightly frowning.

"I um. . ." Jacqueline stopped mid sentence as she saw my facial expression. "I'm sorry for making It as uncomfortable as I did."

" _Sigh_ , If you like, we could just try to make each other as uncomfortable as possible, Then it wouldn't be bad to make jokes like that." I Asked, thinking it would be fun to be able to freely mess with the nurse.

"Only if it's just us In the room, Or if no one else would get it." Jacqueline replied.

"Deal." I said smiling, and holding out my had to make the deal. As Jacqueline shook my hand with her paw she started rubbing my arm seductively.

"So, what should we do first." Jacqueline said seductively while giving me a smile to go with it.

"What have I gotten myself into?"

" _ _Giggle giggle__ _,_ More than you can handle." She said, smiling like she was already planning something else. "So,do you want to tell me what happened with the scars."

"Not really, but if you can guess. I'll give you some details." I said, thinking that she would have figured it out already.

"Were you in an accident?"

"Nope."

"Umm, Are they normal skin formations for you're species?" She asked with her head slightly tilted.

" _He he he_ _h_ , defiantly not. You're either really bad at guessing, or you just don't want to admit what you're thinking." I said with my eyes closed.

"W-were you tortured?" She asked at an almost unregistered level.

"Ding ding ding, give the ball of fluff a prize."

"B-b-but there's so many." Jacqueline said in horror.

"Really, I only noticed one or two." I said, half smiling. Jacqueline looked over her shoulder with daggers from the desk across the room. "Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood."

"It didn't work." She replied solemnly. "Who could do that?" Jacqueline had dropped all joking tone as she started taking off her blue rubber gloves.

"An empire desperate for information. You wouldn't believe how creative they got after year three." I said thinking back to all the years of being tortured in every way imaginable.

As Jacqueline took off the rubber gloves and threw them in the trash I could see tears in her eyes.

"Hey, Hey. Don't be sad, It happened years ago. I'm better… mostly." I reassuringly said.

"But there's so many, how could anyone ever survive through it."

"With hope that I would be rescued and returned t-." I choked on my last words.

"You don't need to say." Jacqueline cooed while walking to the bedside. Tears had started flowing from my eyes from remembering my past and Jacqueline had sat down on the bed with me, holding my hand with her smaller paws.

"I'm sorry for bringing it up." She apologetically said while looking at me with what seemed like genuine care.

"Why would you care. I've know you for a few hours."

"What?" She asked, almost sounding irritated.

"People don't just care like that."

"Well I do. So shut up and let me care."

" _Sniff,_ Thanks, I would ask for a hug, but I can't really do that. _Sniff."_

"Well can do you one better." Jacqueline said while intently looking into my eyes. I almost seemed like she was staring into my soul and I found myself trying to find something else to look at. Although I tried to find something else to look at, Jacqueline's staring took up my full attention and I noticed her ears were turning red.

"Why are your ears turning red?" I asked, trying to relieve the silence.

"Cuz this." She whispered as she kissed my cheek.

"There, all better?"

I didn't say anything for a few seconds while I was processing what happened."I think so." I managed to say.

Jacqueline leaned back in and whispered into my ear. "I'll see you later, Spaceman." before planting another kiss on my cheek. She then stood up and walked out of the room while waving her tail slightly.

" _What just happened?"_ _I said while_ _r_ ubbing my cheek slowly _. "Did I really just like getting kissed by a snow leopard!?"_ I continued to think about what happened for several minutes. Once about five minutes passed, someone knocked on the door.

"Come In." I said just before the door opened and a large buffalo wearing a blue uniform walked into the room. I had identified his name pretty easily, since he had a name tag and I had also determined he was a chief from the combination of four stars on each collar, and the police badge on his uniform. "How can I help you, Chief Bogo?"

"How did you know know that?" He asked, slightly surprised. "Never mind. I'm going to ask you some questions, and you are going to answer truthfully, do you understand?"

"Yes sir."

"Calling me sir is for people who are in the police, nothing else." He said, Sitting down in one of the chairs to my left, by the window.

"I'm In the military."

"What's a military?" He questioned.

"You're kidding right." I said in disbelief.

"I never Joke, now what's this military?" He asked in a very serious tone.

"Well do you have swat, and do they carry lead firing weapons?"

"Yes." Was his reply.

"Well imagine that, but with even better weapons, armored vehicles with massive auto cannons on them, supersonic jets with heat seeking missiles, I could go on for hours. This is what I imagined your military would look like, but I guess I'm mistaken. Mine consists of space ships the size of small city's, but moving on.

What's your rank?" He asked, trying to hide the total amazement of what I just described. I imagine no one else would be able to tell he was amazed due to it being hidden well.

"Admiral, I keep forgetting that fact though. Probably from it being a recent promotion and the fact I've been a captain for years."

"Hmm, very well. State your full name."

"Elliot Lee Crawford."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty six, wait maybe twenty seven. What's the date here?"

"It's April twelfth."

"Wooo, I'm twenty seven today. Wait, nope, twenty six. I keep forgetting the year." I replied un-enthusiastically, since Birthdays didn't really mean much to me. I never celebrated one until I was twelve and by that time, my mind was over three hundred years old.

"Weight?"

"One hundred eighty pounds."

"Eye color?"

"Uhhhuuuhhh, There heterochromic."

"That's not a color."

"It means they're more than one color, they also change color. But put down blue."

The buffalo Sighed and rubbed his temple with a hoof "Where is your current place of residence?"

"I don't have one. But you could put down Forest."

"Hmm. . . Where are you from?"

"Not from around here."

"This is no time for games Mister Crawford." He replied in an irritated tone.

"I'm not playing a game. I'm from a planet forty five thousand light years away."

The buffalo looked at me for a moment then continued writing down something on the clipboard he was holding.

"Hey If you're writing down, this guys crazy. I can just make something up." I said, not wanting to be dismissed as a mental patient.

"That won't be necessary." The Buffalo continued to ask me irrelevant questions for the next fifteen minutes. "I think we're done here Mister Crawford, there's someone here to see you." Bogo said as he walked out the door, leaving it open. I then saw Nick and Judy walk in.

"Hey guys, how ya doing?"

"Elliot I'm so Sorry about what my dad did." Judy said, standing on the right side of the bed.

"I'll be fine Judy, it's not the first time I've been shot."

"Hey Elliot, Here's your wingsuit." Nick interupted as he set the suit on the bed.

"Thanks. . . When did you shoot the lasers?"

"How did you know!?" Judy asked with stupefaction.

"I didn't, you just told me." I replied with a large smirk on my face. Judy's face turned to one of embarrassment as nick pitched in his thoughts.

"Real Smooth Carrots." Nick said as he face palmed.

"So why did you shoot it?" I said while I started fidgeting with the pack. This proved difficult due to me being unable to move my back at all.

"So get this, a bear came up to us all mad and stuff, so I-" Nick said.

"Good enough." I said interrupting Nick. I didn't care that he shot the lasers, what I really wanted to know was how they managed to not only get past the biometric lock, but also figure out how to use the control panel.

"Listen, Elliot. I'm really sorry we shot it." Judy said while staring at her feet. She had her ears laid full against her back.

"Judy it's fine, your reason is acceptable."

"Oh, okay." She said while her Ears popped back up. I thought it was almost comical how her ears were a crucial part of her emotion.

"So how ya holding up?" Nick asked.

"Ehh, Fine. Can you hand me the arm display please? Also, how'd you get past the biometric lock on the suit?"

"Huh, there wasn't a lock at all." Nick said as he handed the display over.

I was rather intrigued that Nick said there wasn't a lock. But I shrugged it off, thinking it may have already been unlocked.

"Elliot, are you sure you're okay." Judy said.

"Guy's, I'm fine, I promise." I said as I pulled a syringe out of the pack.

"What's that? And why does it look like a water bottle filled with tar?" Nick asked.

"It's a special concoction that speeds up healing."

"Ahh, so how does it work?" Judy asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine." I said while shrugging my shoulders.

"Do you know how much it speeds it up?" Nick asked.

"Four hundred fifty times, if I'm remembering correctly." I said.

"Wow...So when will you be okay?" Judy asked.

"Oh, depending on how bad it is. Few hours to a day or two." I said starting to move the syringe by my neck to inject it.

"You're joking right?" Nick said in disbelief.

"No. but I'm not going to use it." I said as I put the syringe back in the lower left compartment of the wingsuit.

"What, Why not?" Judy asked with astonishment.

"Because it could save a life and I only have a few." I replied, pushing the wingsuit to my waist level on my left side. "I have a question for both of you, and feel free to say no."

"Shoot." Judy Said.

"I have some questions About your physical makeup and I would like to take a look at you both. This would include some tests."

"Sure." Nick said Without hesitating.

"Good, Gooood…..Muhahaha." I said, holding my hands up by my face with all the fingers spread apart and fingertips touching.

This caused Both Nick and Judy to give me a concerned look.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist. Nick if you would be so kind as to come sit on the bed."

"Why do I need to sit on the bed?"

"I can't even sit up so that means you have to come to me."

"Duh." Nick whispered to himself as he tried to get up on the bed. He had a little bit of difficulty because of his height but eventually made it.

"Have a seat." I said pointing to the space I made on the bed.

"Ok, So what's first?"

"Paw please?" I said pointing to one of his paws.

I examined his paw the same way I did with Jacqueline's and once I was satisfied with my examination, I moved onto Nick's eyes.

"Okay try not to move." I said while turning his head so I could look at his eye. I had pulled Nick's face within inches of mine and If someone had walked in, it would look like Nick was going to kiss me.

"Do I really need to be this close? it's a little bit weird." He asked with uncertainty.

"Yes, I need to see how your eye structure is formed. You see, my version of foxes have slanted eyes, but yours are round like Human eyes, almost too human."

"What do you mean?" Judy asked, her voice full of curiosity.

"All of your species eyes I've encountered are far larger than they need to be. Anyway, Nick close your eyes." Shortly after Nick had done as I asked, I snapped my fingers near his ears to see if they would automatically rotate to the direction of sound, which they did. Next, I wanted to see if Nick would involentarily react to a stimulation that Foxes on earth react to. "Okay Nick, now I need you to stand on all fours for me."

"Uhh, ok." Nick said, moving back a few feet on the bed before lowing himself on all fours. "So why am I doing this?" He asked while standing just like a normal fox.

"Shh, you'll ruin the experiment." I said, just before scratching the bed under the sheet so Nick couldn't see my hand. I noticed his eyes sharpen and a few milliseconds later, he bounced up vertically, landing on the spot where I was scratching. Then he started digging on the sheet for a few seconds, before eventually snapping out of it.

"The hell, How did you make me do that!?" Nick demanded as he sat down with his feet dangling off the side of the bed.

"HaHaHaHaHaHaaaaa. . . It's something foxes do on my planet." I replied.

"Well slick Nick, I now have ammunition for my gun." Judy said with a devious grin plastered across her face.

"Elliot, I want. No, I demand an explanation."

"I was going to tell you anyway, so don't get all fussy. Alright, on my planet foxes still hunt to survive, when they hear a noise just like the one I made, they think there's something below the snow or ground. Once they hear the sound of potential food, the leap in the air, just like you did, and bury their snouts in the snow to possibly grab the prey. If that doesn't work, they start to dig to find the food. So in essence, I just forced your primal side to take over momentarily." The look on Nick and Judy's face told me that they had no idea about what I was saying.

"How do you know all this, I've never ever heard of this before." Nick marveled.

"It's simple animal behavior really. The real question is, how do you not know this?"

"Elliot I don't think you know this yet, but here calling us _Animals_ is quite rude and derogatory. We prefer the term Mammals." Judy said didactically.

"Gotcha, but how is _Animals_ much different than _Mammals_? Just saying."

"Well, I dunno. But it's just the way things are, Okay?"

"Yep. I bet I could tell you something else that might not be so common knowledge."

"Tell me something about Officer fluff so I have dirt on her too."

After thinking for a minute or two, I had my fact. "Did you know that rabbits can purr by grinding their teeth together. They can't vomit from where I live. And finally, all rabbits are born fur-less. How was that?" I asked, looking directly at Judy, whose mouth was slightly hanging open in awe. Nick looked over to her after she didn't reply.

"Oh man, I have the mother load of information now, don't I?" Nick said with a devious smile. After a few seconds, Judy slowly nodded to Nicks question.

"Now, before we go further down the rabbit hole, Pun intended. Nick, how much do you weigh?"

"Hmm, you say something?" Nick asked, temporarily taking his eyes off Judy.

"Yeah, How much do you weigh?" I said with more emphases than the last time.

"Eighty two pounds last time I checked."

"Uhh, are you sure?"

"Yeah I'm sure."

"Hmm, well there's something different." I said, puzzled with how he weighs that much. "I need to take a tissue sample, if you don't mind."

"Sorry, but that extends past the provided services." Nick replied.

"Ehh, worth a shot. Hey Judy….JUDY!"

"Huh, what?" She replied, snapping out of her stuper.

"Have you decided on weather you would like to be my tent rabbit."

"Um, I'd rather not if it's Ok with you."

"Suit yourself. Well if don't need anything else from me, I shall adjourn to my dreams."

"Yeah, I think we're good. See ya when you wake up." Nick said while padding to one of the guest chairs by the window.

"Are you staying here?"

"Yep." Judy started to say as she hopped up on the foot of the bed and promptly laid on her back. "We were assigned twenty-four hour guard duty on you cuz the angry mob outside."

"Uhh, I can defend myself just fine. You found that out the hard way. Ya-know, when I turned into that guy from the Matrix a few days ago and almost brain washed both of you."

"I still want a rematch for that, I think if you didn't have a gun I would have won." Nick replied while he continued to play on his PDA.

"My Boot in your chest begs to differ. I recall you went flying a few feet, and I had my back turned to you. But don't feel bad, I've never lost a hand to hand combat fight to this day." I said boastfully.

 _"_ Yeah, happenstance. Once your better, we are going a round or two in the ring at the ZPD." Nick said.

"Yeah, that's all you would probably last for." I said with a chuckle.

"Oh and what about now sir fights-a-lot."

"I'd just taze you with my arm." I said, discharging some battery power between my fingers, which created large purple lightning bolts to shoot between my fingers. I had forgot about Judy, and once I activated the discharge, she fell off the bed from surprise.

"Elliot, what the hell!" Judy yelled as she hopped back up on the bed and started rapidly tapping her foot.

"What, Nick seems to think he can beat me up. I was showing that he couldn't. See." **CRRRAAACKK**

"Cut it out man that hurts my ears." Nick interjected.

"Imagine how much it hurts when you touch it. I'm really not suppose to do that though. I could discharge that battery in a matter of seconds."

"Elliot I'm really tired, so could you please shut up." Judy Hissed as she laid back on the foot of the bed.

"Yeah yeah. See ya on the other side." I said as I closed my eyes for much needed sleep.

* * *

-==12 hours later==-

"Elliot, ELLIOT wake up!"

"Whhhaaaaatttt. . ." I whined. "If were not getting shot at, your doing push-ups." I said, thinking I was on the F.N.S Damocles.

"Judy, I can't hold the door much longer!" I looked over in the direction of the voice and saw Nick, who was holding the door as something tried to kick it in.

"Angry mob?"

"YEP!" Nick shouted back.

"Wouldn't be the first time." I said while reaching for my Sidearm contained in the wingsuit.

"Elliot, you need to be ready For Angry Mammals to come through the door, we'll protect you so don't worry." Judy said, failing to sound confident.

I had already known that the duo wouldn't be enough to stop anything larger than a squirrel. So I had set the wingsuit on a bedside table that I could easily reach. Shortly after acquiring my pistol, I chambered a round and turned on the red laser that was attached to the rail on the bottom. The pistols MRD (mini Red dot) Was a Fiber optic, so that didn't need any activating.

"Elliot, you're not really going to shoot them are you?" Jacqueline asked from my left side.

"What are you doing in here!?" I asked, worried for Jacqueline.

"I was checking on you. Elliot please tell me you aren't going to shoot them." Jacqueline replied with her ears splayed flat.

"Not unless they break through the door. Put this on." I said, resting my hand on the Wingsuit.

"Why?"

 **Boom**

"It has a shield, and I don't want to risk you getting hurt. So put it on." Shortly after beckoning Jacqueline a second time, she fastened the shoulder and waist straps. I then put the control panel on my left arm and turned it on. I wasn't going to activate the shield until the door was broken down due to the shield only lasting for thirty seconds.

 **Boom**

"Ok, now what? Jacqueline asked in a concerned tone, probably from the door frame cracking.

"Now you stand as far from the door as possible and I'll do the rest."

 **Boom**

"NICK, JUDY!" This earned the Two mammals attentions. "Once the door breaks, get behind Jacqueline. I've-" Boom "I've hooked up the shield to her!" I said in a raised voice.

"We can't do that, we have to protect you!" Judy Yelled.

"I'll be fine, you Both Know that you can't stop them."

The two continued to hold the door closed, but once a hole was punched straight though the solid oak door, the scampered behind Jacqueline, who was also cowering on the left side of my bed. I was holding the pistol with my left hand, aiming the pistol at the door, showing a red dot from the laser. My right hand was hovered over the shield button on my control panel.

 **CRRAACK**

"It's you time to die alien filth..."

Before he could finish his sentence, I pressed the shield button and Jacqueline was enveloped in an almost transparent blue field. Simultaneously, I opened fire on the crowd of Mammals that were trying to flood the door. The first to fall was a polar bear, who I imagine was kicking the door in. I continued to fire into the crowd and I could hear each shell hitting the ground with a tink. I had directed about twelve of the thirty rounds in the magazine into the upper chest of all the mammals. Some taking only one round to drop, while others, like the polar bear, taking three rounds to the chest before I directed my fire to its head, sending brain matter all over the walls and floor. Within a few seconds of opening fire I had wasted each and every animal and after the ringing in my ears subsided, Sizzling could be heard as the incendiary rounds continued to burn in the animals chests.

"Standing!" Just as I said that, a sheep jumped around the corner and opened fire

 ** **Bang bang bang**** **.** He opened fire with what sounded like an old 9x19 Parabellum. ****Boom****. My pistol's report had dwarfed that of the sheep's weapon, due to the powder charge difference. The single round I had fired at the sheep hit its mark, and lodged into the right side of the sheep's chest. The entire time I was wishing I had attached the dark tan suppressor the went with the gun so the hospital room wouldn't sound like a jet fighter was flying through it. As the ringing subsided, the sizzling continued.

"I looked over to Jacqueline who had shrieked when the sheep fired, and I could see just the last bits of shield ripple where a bullet had impacted the shield. If not for that blue transparent bubble, Jacqueline would have been hit in the face, killing her instantly.

"Jacqueline, are you Okay." I asked, knowing she was physically fine. But I found it helps to be asked if your Ok anyway. Instead of her saying anything, she attempted to hug me. But failed due to the shield stopping her from touching anything. A few seconds of awkward silence went by with her waiting for the shield to shut off, and me still aiming at where the door use to be. Once the shield deactivated, Jacqueline hug my neck tightly.

"You saved my life." She muttered into my ear.

"Yeah, and I also caused all this. If I hadn't come here, you wouldn't have been put in danger anyway." I said, looking at the pile of six of seven bodies toppled onto one another, blood pooling out onto the white linoleum floor.

"Elliot. Did-did you kill them?" Judy asked nervously, already knowing the answer.

"Freeze ZPD!" I heard a loud male voice say.

"Stand down, it's over. By the way, you're late." I said, feeling my prosthetic arm where a bullet hit it, Thankfully the arm was designed to take quite a beating. While I was learning about how it worked, one of the engineers said it could withstand small rifle fire, which at the time I though was pointless, but as the years went by, I had learned how to use it like a small shield by angling my hand so bullets would ricochet away from my body, not that they said it was a good idea .

"Are you guys alright?" The same voice said, who turned out to be a large tiger. A gray wolf also walked in after him, both holding measly tranquilizer pistols. The wolf looked at the pile of dead or dying bodies for a few seconds before holstering his pistol and running out while covering his muzzle from the bloody scene of burnt and mangled flesh.

"We're fine. Right?" I asked, looking to everyone else in the room, who nodded. Jacqueline was still busy hugging my neck and I had my finger just above the trigger guard assembly, just in case.

"Heh, guess Wolford can't handle his lunch." The tiger quipped.

"Fangmayer, Go get a doctor, Let's try to save some of them." Judy said before using the tiger as a vault to hop over the fallen animals and large pool of blood emanating from multiple sources.

Hearing commotion of more police outside, I decided I was fairly safe, so I dropped the magazine and racked the slide while keeping my hand over the ejection port to catch the cartridge. After caching the cartridge, I put the round back into the magazine before reinserting the mag into the gun. I continued to hold onto the pistol for the time being, just in case.

* * *

-==15 Minutes later==-

I had been moved to another room a few floors up and oddly, it had the exact same layout except without the ventilator.

"Elliot." Judy said, jumping on the bed next to my left side, seeing the impact of the round on my forearm.

"I'm Fine."

"Jacqueline! Elliot's been shot." She said, trying to get a good grip of my arm so she could see.

"I'm Fine, it's just minor." I said, pulling my arm away. Judy continued to pester me until Jacqueline arrived.

"I need to clean this up. Can you please clear out?" Jacqueline Asked.

"I'm fine!" I said loudly, as everyone left the room.

"No, you could make it worse." Jacqueline said, pulling my hand away from the impact point.

"Listen to her Elliot." Judy said sternly, while walking out the door and avoiding the blood the best she could.

"Well Mister Crawford this is unexpected." I looked up to see Chief Bogo walking in the room.

"What, getting shot, or killing six people." I said in an irritated tone.

"Don't worry, so far only three have died thanks to direct shots to the heart and head." He said, completely un-amused with the situation. Bogo started to say something else but was interrupted by Jacqueline, who told him to leave until she finished with what she was doing. After he left the room, Jacqueline pulled the curtain In front of the closed door.

"I need to take this off." Jacqueline said, pointing to the gown.

"I'm fine."

"You were shot in the arm. You're not fine." Jacqueline was still wearing the EXO-35 and she had started to take it off while we continued our talk.

"It's bullet proof, see." I said at a near whisper, showing the copper colored mark where the bullet ricocheted.

"Ohhh, I forgot that one's fake." She said, rubbing the copper residue off with a finger to reveal not even a scratch.

"SHHH. I don't want anyone to know."

"Sorry, sorry. I still need to check to make sure you're Ok." She replied while setting the wingsuit on the table across the room.

"NO, you don't. I'm fine." I siad withcrossed my arms.

"It's ether me, or someone else. So take your pick." She said crossing her arms to imitate me.

" _Sigh_. . . Fiiinnnne."

"Gown off."

"You're enjoying embarrassing me, aren't you."

"Why yes, yes I am." Jacqueline said as the gown was undone to look at the wound.

"Wow."

"It's not the first time you've seen it so I don't know why your reacting like that." I said, now laying naked on the bed.

As I finished my sentence Jacqueline's ears turned red. "Tha-tha-that's not what I'm talking about." She stuttered.

"Point for me." I said while Jacqueline felt around on the bandage wrapped around my stomach. Eventually in her groping of my wound, she pressed too hard, earning an audible wince.

"Oh sorry." She said, Reliving the pressure she had on the stapled shut wound. "I never really said thanks for saving my life ya-know."

"As I said before, if I hadn't been here you wouldn't have been in this situation in the first place. Second, you did hug me for like five minutes straight."

"Oh shuh you. Don't be going all cliché on me with the ' _it's all my fault'_ routine. And a hug hardly repays saving my life."

"Okay, I wont be cliché. But what do you propose to pay me back with then, because that hug was enough repayment for me."

"You'll find out the repayment when you get it." She said in a seductive tone.

"Denied point for the feline. _Sorry._ " I replied in a high pitch sarcastic tone.

"Oh I wasn't joking." Jacqueline said with a smirk, to which I dismissed as being a second attempt to embarrass me.

"Yeah, how about you be done now." I said while Jacqueline continued to feel my wound.

"Okay….It's not to bad, it just needs to be disinfected and bandaged, AGAIN." Jacqueline said while she pulled out some bandages and a bottle of liquid before walking back over with gloves on. "This is going to hurt a lot, so try not to move." She said as she put a cotton swab with the disinfectant on my wound.

"It really doesn't hurt all that much."

"Everyone that I've applied this to has yelled in pain."

"Everyone else hasn't been tortured for years."

"You never said that you were tortured for that long." She replied, Stopping The bandage work.

"Uh, yeah I did. I recall saying something like, they got really creative after year three."

"Oh, yeah. I Remember now." She almost whispered in a depressed tone.

"NO moping. New topic, what did you do before being a nurse?"

"I worked at an Ihopp. How about you?" She asked in a slightly more uplifting tone.

"I was a captain of a very large warship, called the FNS Damocles."

"Wait, uhh. what's war?"

"Your joking right." I said in disbelief.

"Nevermind I remember. We just haven't had a war in thousands of years."

"Lucky bastards."

"That's not very nice."

"Sorry, that was suppose to be a thought, guess it just slipped. So back on topic, what were you saying?"

"How big was the ship?"

"Just over a mile long." I said, thinking back to the first time I saw a Farragut Battlecruiser. It was an awe inspiring sight, the ship was in low orbit around the planet and it created a partial solar eclipse, casting a shadow for miles.

"Wow. . . . That's huge."

"Thanks for the compliment, but that's normal for my species." I said, smirking. Shortly after my comment registered, I could see Jacqueline's entire face clearly turn red under her white and black fur.

"Two points for me." I was enjoying making Jacqueline super embarrassed, and for some reason I didn't care that she was seeing me naked. Most likely from the years of community showering while I was in the navy. "Anyway, the ship was a capital class Battlecruiser, so it was one of the biggest in our navy."

"Grrrrr, Did you really have to bring that up." Jacqueline said while looking at me with irritation.

"You agreed to it." I said as I poked her shoulder lightly.

"Fiinnnnnne. . . . But why did you come here?"

"The ship was destroyed. I had pulled the stupidest most cliché thing in the book. ' _Oh I'll trade my life for the lives of my crew.'_ I still can't believe I made that mistake, and because of that decision. I was forced to watch my entire Seven-thousand man a women crew die." I said in anger at my own stupidity.

"We can talk about something else if you want."

". . . Okay, I'll finish what I tried to say earlier." I glumly stated.

Jacqueline had finished my bandage, so she sat on the bed as I re-clothed myself the best I could. "Could you help? I can't get it on all the way." I asked as I struggled to tie the gown back together.

"I didn't know you had trouble getting it on." She said, staring me with a seductive smile plastered on her face, as she rubbed my leg with her tail.

"Damn, I don't know if I can top that one." I said in moderate defeat as my face heated up.

Jacqueline dropped the smile after a few seconds and helped me put the gown back on. "You don't need to tell me, it made you cry." She said, holding my hand delicately.

"I've never told anyone beside the mandatory therapist and it needs to be said."

"...Ok, but if you want to stop at anytime, by all means, stop."

"Listen, Even if I have a hard time getting it on, I don't think I'll need a break. __Sigh,__ _that was terrible." I mumbled._

Jacqueline started to giggle a little bit at my comment, which made me less worried about how bad the comeback was. I then returned to all seriousness.

"Ok, shortly after being rescued from my capture I was at a medical station orbiting an allied planet. It had been a few weeks after I arrived. I was almost healed thanks to the Recovery stimulation kit, or R.S.K I was given and my-my wife was headed to the station to see me. But she never ar-arrived."

"You don't need to say any more." Jacqueline said, now holding my hand with both of her paws as she stared at me with her Piercing light blue eyes. I could tell that for some reason She cared deeply about my well being, and I couldn't figure out why.

"Yes...I do. . . I found her ship floating in space a few weeks after I started searching. Sh-she had been t-tor-tortured to death, for my location." I managed to say in-between whimpers.

"Why are you telling me this?" Jacqueline asked in a concerned tone.

"Because you're the only person I've truly felt comfortable around in years, and I. I don't know."

"Well, I'm happy that you're comfortable around me." Jacqueline said as she sat on the left side of the bed.

"I um, I don't suppose I could have a hug, could I?" I asked sheepishly.

"For you, of course." Jacqueline sad as she pulled me into soft embrace. We hugged for almost a whole minute in total silence. I couldn't explain it if I tried but something about that cat had me opening up in hours what took months of time with anyone else, and for some reason, I wanted to tell her everything that hurt me in my past. But I pushed that thought away when our peaceful hug was interrupted

"Are you finished dressing his wound yet?" Chief Bogo asked from behind the curtain.

"Yes." Jacqueline said while quickly standing up and straightening out her clothes. The door opened behind the curtain and the buffalo walked in, pushing the curtain to the side. He then asked Jacqueline to wait outside.

"Hey can you get my other stuff?" I asked.

"Yeah." She replied before closing the door.

"Thanks." I said, as Jacqueline left the room.

"So Elliot here's what's going to happen." He said in a calm tone. "YOU are going to walk out the hospital door and go back to whatever planet you're from." Bogo said in a much less calm tone as he pointed at me and then the door.

"I can't do that. This is a one way trip. Besides, I'm paralyzed." I calmly replied.

"YOU don't have a decision in the matter!"

Bogo outburst had put me over the edge on my opinion of him and I racked the slide to my pistol and flicked the laser on. In about half a second after Bogos' outburst, a small red dot was on his chest where his heart was located. "I'm going to have to ask you to step back a few feet. And don't think your archaic armor plating will stop one of these rounds."

"ARE you, pointing a weapon at me." He indignantly stated.

"No I'm pointing a snow cone at you, what the does it look like. Now You're going to be civilized about this, so take a seat."

Bogo let out an irritated snort before taking a seat in one of the visitor chairs.

"Okay, I will leave town for two weeks to give you time to get this under control. But I can't leave the planet."

"Why not?"

"Because the means of getting here was one way. I used a portal to get here and it doesn't bring itself with me." We continued to talk about the situation, and I eventually lowered my sidearm once I felt Bogo was calmed down. After a fair bit of one sided argument, we decided that I would go to the Medical center in bunny burrow until further notice. Bogo left the room shortly after and I was left alone for a few minutes while I waited for my clothes.

When Jacqueline came in, she was holding my G suit and wearing the helmet, which was an urban Multiacm pattern. This meant I had forgot to turn off the Automatic Camouflage System embedded into the fabric. She also had my normal Navy Bdu, which the Federal navy, for some reason, still employed the Blue quadrilateral camouflage pattern from when there were still multiple governments on earth.

"Do you mind not putting the helmet on." I said, not wanting to have to clean cat fur out of the padding.

"Oh, sorry. It just looked really cool." She said glumly, pulling the helmet off after setting the other clothes on the desk across the room.

"Yeah, it it. Look, I don't mind that you put it on, I just don't want to be cleaning out fur from the padding system." I relied in a friendly tone. "Was it on when you found it?"

"Nooo, I turned it on because I wanted to see what your technology was like." She said in a guilty tone as her ears laid flat. "But I don't shed at this time of year, so you'll be safe." She added, most likely trying to redeem herself.

"Am I allowed to put on normal clothes yet? And if so, can you hand me the blue outfit"

"Yeah, you can't wear normal clothes for at least a few months."

"Ok, let me rephrase. Give me the blue outfit so I can put it on."

"No, I'm serious, You can't wear anything other than that hospital gown."

"Fiiiinnnneee. . . I just realized something. No one told me how bad my injuries are. Would you happen to know?"

"WHAT!? I'm going to kill her." Jacqueline muttered to herself as she grabbed the clipboard at the end of the bed. "This isn't looking to good. You have a ruptured spleen and kidney. Your liver is bruised and most of your intestines were shredded. . ."

"What?"

"Elliot, can you feel your legs?" She asked while looking at me with pity.

"Aww maaaan." I replied, unable to move my feet or legs.

"OH! It says you have a good chance of regaining your leg functions."

"Well that's a plus... Sorry to change topic so suddenly. How many survived?"

"What are you ta-Ohhhh. . . So far, five of the seven are dead." Jacqueline said in a crestfallen tone.

" _Sigh._ That's really too bad, they probably had a fair amount of life left." I said in a slightly disappointed tone. I was more concerned about the negative backlash I would get from the local news and civilian population, but it was nothing I couldn't smooth over with one of my famed speeches.

"Elliot d-do you feel bad about killing them? It's like you don't have any remorse." Jacqueline asked while she put the clip board back.

"Do you want the truth, or what will make you feel better?"

"You don't mean that you don't care. Do you?"

I let out a slight chuckle. "So I take it you want the truth." I said to which Jacqueline nodded slowly. "Well, I've killed so many, that a few lives are insignificant to me. Well it is unfortunate that those peop-Mammals had to die, I don't show much sympathy to those who intend to harm me or the ones I care for." I said in my normal speaking voice. "On the other hand, if I were to kill innocents… I wi…would never forgive myself." I finished in a low tone.

"But they were innocent." Jacqueline protested in a raised voice.

"Yeah, do you call breaking down a door that the police said not to go into innocent. Or do you call seven grams of lead and copper flying at my arm innocent. How about seven grams of hot lead and copper flying at YOUR FACE, is that innocent? Because where I'm from it's not." I said in a rather frustrated tone. By the end of my reply, Jacqueline had lost her edgy expression.

"I uh, I forgot about that. I think I'll just go now." She said as she pointed her thumb at the door.

"I'm not mad at you, I just… I don't understand why everyone I've encountered has been so hostile." I said in a hurt tone.

"Not everyone's mean to you. Look at me." She said while holding a paw up to her chest.

"Yeah, you and two others who originally I almost killed from a misunderstanding. I do really appreciate the hospitality you've given me. Like, you have no idea how lacking my life is in the friends department."

"… Can I tell you something?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure, it's super secret." Jacqueline asked with animosity.

"I am a literal box of secrets, so I think yours is safe." I replied as Jacqueline sat on the right side of bed at my chest level.

"Your the first anyone I've l-liked in a while."

"I don't understand why that's secret worthy. But I'm glad to be a friend."

"No, I mean _Like, Like."_ She reiterated with a blush present.

"Oh um, I… Thank you, but please don't take this the wrong way." Instantly Her face turned into dread. "I don't think it would be smart for us to ya-know, date."

"Oh, I see. I should have realized that you wouldn't like an Alien."

"NO, it's not that at all. I do like you, but I'm damaged merchandise." I replied, trying to prevent Jacqueline from crying or whatever.

"That doesn't matter to me. Even if you were permanently paralyzed, I wouldn't care."

"I don't mean physically, I can fix that. I mean emotionally." I said while tapping my hear with a finger. "And, how would the public react to you dating the alien that just _Murdered_ seven Mammals in _cold blood_."

"B-but" She started.

"Jacqueline, you know I'm right. I can see it in your eyes." I said while cupping her left cheek and rubbing it with my thumb. "I have to leave for a while."

"No you can't." Jacqueline said.

" _Sigh_. I need to get to Bunnyburrow."

"No you could become much worse id you get moved. Besides, why would you need t leave?" She asked.

"It was the compromise I made with the buffalo. Look, I don't have a phone but if you do, I'll try to call if you'd like." I said while trying to get her to lay off the motherly care. It wasn't that it was bad in small doses, but she had done it more times than I'd like.

"Ok, I'd like that. Here's my number." Jacqueline said before getting a piece of paper from across the room and writing down a number

"Can you help me stand?"

"What NO. You can't even sit!"

"Why not?"

"Your spine was shattered."

"Shit, I forgot." I replied. "I need you to do something for me."

"Ok but please don't move." Jacqueline said with concern.

"Roger that ma'am." I said, saluting her. "Can you take this to the roof?" I said while pointing to the Wingsuit.

"Why?"

"Because I need you to."

"Uhh, sure."

"OH, and put these goggles on so I can see what you see."

"You owe me after this." Jacqueline said while putting the pack and goggles on.

* * *

-==5 minutes later, Jacqueline Pov==-

"Ok put the pack above the concrete." I said to myself, looking at the stairwell roof. The top of the hospitable was littered with various vents and heating systems along with a raised helipad to the left of the stairwell.

"Yep." Elliot said through the speaker embedded into the goggles.

"AH….. you scared me!"

"Sorry. . . Sooo, can the roof hold about four thousand pounds?" Elliot asked.

"ELLIOT, What are you going to do!?" I demanded while climbing the fifty degree angle concrete wall to put the pack on the roof of the stairwell, which was about fifteen feet high to accommodate Mammals of different sizes.

"Don't worry, nothing bad is going to happen. In a few minutes a large rectangle is going to fly over. So don't be scuurred."

"Wait like a Ufo? And I won't be scuurred." I said while mocking Elliots' tone.

"Not really a UFO. More like a UFSC."

"What?"

"Unidentified flying sea container. I just made it up."

"Oh, ok. So how does it fly?" I said, sitting down on the snow covered concrete roof, leaning up against the wall of the stairwell door.

"Pulse detonation engines."

"WHAT!?"

"I thought you were in advanced technology classes."

"Well yeah, but I've never herd of that." I said as I waved my paws.

"Why do you wave you hands like that?"

"You can see me!" I yelled, frantically looking around me.

"No, the goggles have a camera In them. So stop looking everywhere before you make me nauseous."

"Oh. . . right." I replied, feeling embarrassed.

"The engines are self explanatory really. They produce thrust in a pulse fashion. So instead of a khrrrrrr sound, it's a brrrrnnt sound."

"You're really bad at sound effects."

"Yeah yeah. The pod should be in view now."

"Oh my." I said after standing up and seeing the rectangular prism headed toward me, which was making a very rapid popping sound, almost like if you made a grass whistle. "So that's what you were trying to mimic."

"Listen very carefully. You have to keep looking at it so I can land it."

"You're going to fly that!" I Yelled in disbelief.

"Yep. Just like a video game." Elliot said as the sea container slowly started to move over the building, creating a massive jet wash below it. Once it was over the roof, it started to lower onto the ground and I could barely stay startionary from the massive amounts of hot air being blown on me.

"Wait! What about the helipad!?" I yelled, looking over to it.

"You need to get up there so I can see."

I turned and jogged to the few steps of the helipad and looked at the large circle with an H in the middle. After looking at it for a few seconds, Elliot told me to look at the Security station. The station started to move again and it rotated so one of the long sides was facing the stairs. Once it was correctly lined up, the pod landed with a thud as the large landing gear retracted slightly from the weight on the pistons. A few seconds went by before the engines shut off.

"Are you ok?" Elliot asked through the radio.

"Yeah I'm fine. This is amazing!" I said while Gesturing to the sea container.

"Admire it later. Right now you need to get something out for me. Go over and press the large triangle on the middle of the wall."

I walked up to the container and pressed the large button Elliot described. Upon doing this, the entire wall flipped up to ninety degrees and the inside lit up white. "Now what. . .Elliot?"

"Standby." He replied.

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

"What the Hell Just landed on the roof!?" Judy yelled.

"A uhh. The security pod from the forest." I said nervously.

"WHAT! How did it get here!?"

"It c-can fly remember?" I said nervously. I didn't know I could ever be scared of a two foot rabbit, but boy was I wrong.

"Unbelievable!"

"Sorry Judy. . . this is the only way to transport me." I said sheepishly.

"Transport you. Transport you where?" She said, no longer very angry.

"Back to the forest."

"What, why do you need to go there." She said, now saddened with her ears behind her back.

"Bogo told me to leave."

"Eliot I can't stand up here for ever." I heard through the radio.

"Just a minute. Ok You're looking in the medical section for a large semi flat rectangle."

"Is this it?" I could see Jacqueline pointing to a small slot in the medical section.

"Yeah. Pull it out and bring it back down here."

"That's it?"

"Yeah. See you when you get here." I said through the microphone of my control panel before turning my attention back to Judy.

"Elliot how are you going to recover?" Judy asked.

"With time."

"You can't just lay out there by yourself." She said, crossing her arms.

"It wouldn't be the first time." I whispered to myself.

"What do you mean. This has happened before?" Judy asked with concern.

"Right. I keep forgetting you have radar dishes for ears. Yes this has happened before. I was, thirteen I think."

"Th-thirteen. What happened?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Elliot why won't you tell me anything!?" Judy said, jumping on the bed and standing really close to my face while poking my chest with a finger.

"Because I don't want you to be sad for me." I replied as I backed my head further into the pillow to create space, which was instantly taken up.

"I won't." She said, moving millimeters away from my face, making me feel slightly warmer than normal.

"You cried when I told you about my ship. So I'm not going to tell you any more." As I finished my sentence Jacqueline walked in.

"Am I interrupting something?" She said smiling.

Judy jumped back instantly, turning red. "N-N-NO!" she stammered.

"Elliot?" She asked.

"Nothing was going on. Just Judy trying to interrogate me." I said, chuckling at how Judy reacted.

"I wasn't interrogating you." Judy said.

"I beg to differ." Crossing my arms.

"HEY. Elliot what am I suppose to do with this." Jacqueline said, holding up the body sized rectangle.

"Look for a green triangle and press it. Then just let it drop with your hands acting like a hinge. Oh and make sure the bed like side faces up."

Jacqueline did as I said. When she pressed the triangular button the charcoal black rectangle started a low pitch hum. When she dropped it like a hinge the table caught it's self and hovered.

"Whoa." Was all Judy said.

"It's a stretcher." Jacqueline said examining the table.

"Correct. . . Can you get some people to move me onto it."

"Yeah just a minute. Jacqueline said exiting the room."

"Elliot you ca..."

"Judy it's for the best. I've gone over this dozens of times in my head and this is the best thing to do."

". . . I'll miss you." Judy said, holding my hand with her ears laid back.

"I'll miss you too" I said, petting her paw with my thumb.

* * *

-==10 minuets later==-

We were now on the roof of the hospital and there was what looked like swat surrounding the pod, wearing all black. Jacqueline was pushing the floating stretcher I was laying on and when we came close to the police, they stopped us.

"You need to leave, right now!" One of the swat member said.

"Ya-know, you'd be no match for that thing. Besides I'm leaving anyway, and that's my ride."

"This is yours!?" The wolf from before said.

"Yes it's mine, now please move, Wolford."

"One moment." He said, before pressing a button on his black vest. "Sir I have someone here claiming he owns the object. . . Well he's the creature everyone's been talking about, so I think he's telling the truth. . . Yes sir."

"Well?"

"You're to prove it's yours."

"If you expect me to pull out a registration. Ur out of luck." This made Jacqueline chortle.

"Just prove it somehow." He said, stepping out of the way so I could get closer.

As Jacqueline was pushing the stretcher to the helipad I started talking. "Could you get the flight suit and the rest of my things?"

She nodded and walked off to grab my things, leaving me at the edge of the helipad. Laying there, I thought of how to show them that I owned the pod.

" _Got it_. Computer, status report."

"Fuel 98% Power 99.6%." In the British female accent.

"Weapons status."

"Weapons, offline. Tracking systems online."

"Wait a minute. SAM!?" I said in disbelief.


	8. Chapter 8: Exile

_Chapter Eight_

 _Every wound has a scar, and every scar tells a story. A story that says, I survived._

* * *

"Wait a minute. SAM!?" I said in shock.

"Took you long enough." The computer said in a chipper tone.

"I thought you were destroyed on the Damocles."

"Well I couldn't just leave you helpless and alone in the new word, now could I." She mocked.

"It's good to see ya Sam." I Said happily.

"You too sir."

"Hold on a second. You Know the computer." Wolford said, letting go of his automatic tranquilizer rife so the sling held it. Then gesturing to the pod with a paw.

"Yeah, I've known her for about twenty five years. She trained me." Looking At the stunned wolf.

"I sure did. But that didn't seem to help you getting shot, ya goof." Sam said.

"This is unbelievable. Well I'd say you proved you own it. STAND DOWN!" He yelled to the other officers While walking away.

"Sir, Why didn't you use an R.S.K? I Scan organ damage along with multiple shattered vertebrae."

"Because I only have one." I stated matter-of-factly.

"I found all of your things." Jacqueline unknowingly interrupted, while walking up and holding my flight pack and pistol.

"Jacqueline, I want you to meet Sam. One of my best friends since I was born." I said, waving to the pod.

She tipped her head slightly to the side, and looked at me with a scowl. "Elliot, are you feeling ok?"

I waited patiently for Sam to introduce herself, which never happened. "SAM, Now isn't the time for a joke." I said, annoyed that she didn't say anything.

"Elliot I think you need some water." Jacqueline said with concern.

"SAAAM!" I yelled with Hollow irritation.

"Jeez Elliot. Hello, It's Nice to meet the nurse taking care of my Idiot." Sam said, causing Jacqueline to jump.

"You're . . . a computer. That's... that's... just wow." I could see Jacqueline's face lite up like a kid.

"Sir, I have stock of twenty R.S.K's. You should really use one."

"I thought I only had one." My face was now plastered with confusion, due to the absurd cost of an R.S.K, let alone twenty.

"Negative Sir. Nomízo óti sas arései pragmatiká." _Sir, I think she really likes you._

"Nai xéro. _"_ _Yeah I know._ I said, turning red.

"What are you saying?" Jacqueline asked while leaning above my face, noticing it's color.

"Nothing important." I said, trying to deflect to another topic.

"Ok. Well when are we leaving?" Jacqueline asked.

"You're not coming with me because you have a job to do. Besides I have Sam."

"Sorry Charley, My boss said the only way you can leave is if I go with you. So this is my job" She said with a sly smile.

"Mmmmmhhmmmm. . . fine." I said, not believing a word.

"SIR. The R.S.K." Sam interjected.

"Yeah, yeah, but not until we get to the forest."

"Yes sir. So are you going to introduce me or not?" Sam asked.

"Oh sorry. Jacqueline This is Sam. I've known her since I was one."

"Nice to meet you Sam. So you've known Elliot since he was a baby?"

"Yep I've served under the command of Elliot for years. I'm really one of his only friends."

"Wait." Jacqueline held her Paws out, gesturing Sam to stop. "Elliot, is a computer really your best friend?" Jacqueline asked with Disapproval.

"It's pretty sad right. He had ample opportunity to make real ones." Sam quiped.

"Saaaaaammm" I groned in annoyance while pinching the bridge of my nose. " _Sigh…._ Just show here where the EXO-35 goes."

"Yes sir." She said as the large wall opened up with one spot lit up red. "Jacqueline The suit goes in the red area."

"Like that?" Jacqueline asked putting the wingsuit into an almost coat hanger like spot.

"Yes ma'am. Sir, shall I take control of the stretcher?" Sam asked as the pod door closed again.

"Yeah. Jacqueline can you climb on top of the pod?" I asked as I was raised to about ten feet then moved onto the top of the pod. "Jacqueline?" I was wondering why she didn't respond.

"Yes." She said, popping into view over my face, startling me badly.

O_O "Shit" I whispered ". . . Jacqueline you scared the crap out of me."

"Awww is the big bad captain scared." Sam faux mocked.

"Sam could you just lock me down and get us to the forest. My joke meter is almost full."

"Yes sir, sorry sir. Jacqueline please hold onto the stretcher." Jacqueline was on my left side, I was Ninety degrees offset from the pod and the stretcher had magnetized to the pod.

"Ok." Jacqueline replied.

"Elliot, Nomízo óti ísos na eínai se beládes afoú perásete merikés méres mazí tis óla mónos sto dásos." _Elliot, I_ _think you might be in trouble after you spend a few days with her all alone in the forest._

" _SAM, orkízomai an sas po káti pou tha sas kleísei." "SAM, I swear if you say anything, I'll shut you down."_ I snipped back, fairly annoyed at what Sam was inferring.

"Relax Sir, I've had my fun. Nothing to worry about." Sam said chuckling.

"What was that about?" Jacqueline asked.

"NOTHING." I said way to quickly.

"Don't worry I'll have plenty of time to get it out of you." She said, looking at me with her eyes half lidded and a sly smile on her face, which was Making me worried.

"Starting engines, stand clear of Intake and exhaust ports."

Sam started the Pulse detonation engines on the pod, and we started to slowly lift off the ground. The Jet wash from the pod caused the officers below to shield their faces, some smaller ones were even blown away. The pod then started to slowly move over the edge of the building, causing Jacqueline to squeeze my arm tightly.

"Are you afraid of heights!?" I yelled over the engines.

Jacqueline didn't say anything as she looked at me with her eyes wide and her ears laid flat against her head. Seeing her face, I realized how badly she was scared, so I wrapped my left arm around her waist and pulled her close to me as we sped up to about sixty five miles an hour. Holding her seemed to help, but I could still see the terror in her eyes.

"SHIELDS!" I yelled. Instantly all the noise of the engines and wind was gone as a blue field enveloped us. As the noise and wind disappeared, we flew over the snow filled land. To my slight amazement, we flew into a desert environment, simply separated by a large wall. I could see the massive heaters that created the heat of the several square mile section of city. " _Hmmm, I'll have to ask about that."_

"Hey look at me. You're going to be ok, I won't let you go." I said very gently while I looked into Jacqueline terrified eyes.

"Th-th-th-thanks." She said holding me even tighter. "I don't su-su-suppose you have any music?"

"As it happens, Sam should have some."

"What should I play sir?" Sam asked.

"How about that one I never named."

"Excellent choice. You really should name it though." Sam said.

The music started playing and I could see Jacqueline instantly loosen up.

* * *

 _ **Authors note: I recommend you listen to the song if you can.**_ **(** **Tunes Of Fantasy - No Name,** **by Florian Bur)**

* * *

"So do you like it?" I asked as the song began playing.

"So far. Wh-who made it?"

". . . I did." I said with a slight prideful smile.

"But I hear more than one instrument." Jacqueline said, looking at me with wonder.

"I played each, one at a time. Then overlaid them to make the song."

"How did you have time to learn all this?" She said, continuing to tightly hold me.

"A computer system called Satcom."

"You know I hate that name. It makes me sound like I'm some sort of weapon." Sam interjected.

"It does not." I replied.

"Sam taught you how to play piano and violin?" Jacqueline asked, confused.

"Yeah, but she taught me a lot more than that." I said smiling, still holding on to her waist.

"Like what?"

"How to speak a different language, fight, command a ship. You name it, and Sam taught it to me."

"But what about your parents?" She whispered into my ear, as we flew over a large ocean area, only about ten or so meters above the sea. I could see a large railway structure to our right that Sam seemed to be following.

"They died when I was seven. Besides that, I only got to see them on the weekends." Silence fell between us After finishing my sentence.

We continued to fly, and eventually we moved over land again, which was very beautifully covered in green trees and grass. There were white clouds dotting the sky, and the sun was just coming up, creating a vibrant pattern of orange and yellow. I had always preferred the country over the city, probably from my training making me think of all the vantage points I could be shot at from. As music continued to play, I eventually felt my shoulder becoming wet.

"Jacqueline. . . Are you crying?" I asked with worry.

"Yeah. . . It's just. You never had a chance to grow up like a normal person." She mumbled.

"Hmm. . . I always wondered what that would be like, but I've realized that's not my destiny. To have a normal life, that is."

"Elliot. . ."

"Yeah."

"Do you miss you're home?" She asked, lifting her head out of my shoulder and looking at me.

"I wish I could say yes. But there isn't much to miss about it. Everything I cared about was lost to me years ago." I said with a solemn look. Jacqueline didn't say anything as she continued to look into my eyes.

"No one should have to go through that alone." She said, looking at me with pity and sorrow.

"I wasn't alone, there were three others in the program with me." I thought of my first friends. I was just turning two at the time, even though I had three decades of education. I could still remember the first day when they were brought into the strategic defensive initiative.

"What happened to them?" She asked.

"Well the girl became my wife, Her name was Judith, and the boy, _Sigh. . ._ His brain overloaded and he died. His name was Carl."

". . ."

"Well, it's best not to doddle on things of the past. How about a more uplifting song, huh?" I asked, seeing the utter sorrow in Jacqueline's face. She only nodded and buried her face back into my shoulder.

We were now over a vast amount of rolling forest and Sam had started to slow down to about twenty five mile per hour. I could see the outline of the city to the left, and train tracks, with a train headed to Zootopia on my right.

"Sam how about Bring Me Back To Life by uhh. . ."

"Extreme music." Sam finished.

"Yeah, that's the one." ( **You know what time it is. But if the song hasn't finished, you should let it finish.)**

"That's and oldie. But then again you never liked the new stuff." Sam said as the song switched.

I could now see the meadow about five hundred yards away. We slowly approached the communications relay and I could see what looked like figures running into the forest and hiding.

"Sam do you see that?" Pointing at the treeline.

"Negative sir, I could deploy 166 to take a look though."

"We have a Bubble drone? I thought they don't fit in the pods." I said with surprise in my voice

"They don't sir. 166 came through a few days after you left."

"Hold on, What's a Bubble drone?" Jacqueline interjected. We were now hovering about a hundred meters directly above the meadow.

"They're not called bubble drones. It's called an a-rack, A.R.A.C, Or Advanced Reconnaissance And Combat drone." Sam said.

"Or Bubble drone if you don't want to have an aneurysm from thinking so hard." I quipped.

"What's it look like?" Jacqueline asked.

"Sam Go ahead and scan the area." I said, ignoring Jacqueline's comment.

"Yes sir."

I could hear the drone making its start up sequence noises. "Boowan boodooo Waaaaaaaannnn . . . dooop. . . dooop. . .dooop" Meanwhile a consistent spooling noise was heard from the jet turbines spinning up.

The white a-rack took off and flew around the meadow, scanning the area with its blue scanner. After it scanned the area and found nothing, it flew up to where we were hovering.

"ding ding ding ding." The drone Noised In a high pitched and fast tone.

We could clearly see the white sphere-like drone with four auto-cannon's, hovering in front of us as we descended. Once the engines on the pod shut off, Jacqueline spoke up.

"This thing is amazing." Pointing to the drone.

* * *

 **Authors note: It's an Oblivion drone, except where there's white is an adaptive solid color. I suggest you Google (Best of Oblivion Drones.)** **from the movie,** **so the sound effects make a little more sense. I tried for about an hour to make semi good text sound effects until I gave up. Sorry guys. This is a real immersion breaker, but whatever. I also know this isn't elite dangerous stuff, but I couldn't find much on the automated security drones from Horizons. Also there gigantic.**

 **Drone firing: pew pew pew pew. I seriously tried with this one for about half an hour before saying, screw it. If you have a good idea for the shooting sound please, for all that is sacred, tell me.**

* * *

"Sam, I want 166 to do an extensive sweep of the forest in a one square mile radius." I said as I was lowered from the top of the pod. Jacqueline jumped off the pod as The bubble drone flew off and started scanning things.

"Soooo, what do we do now?" She asked, standing on the left side of the stretcher.

"Well, now you inject an R.S.K." Looking up at her.

"Ok, but I don't know how."

"It's pretty simple, just take the needle, stick it in my neck right here." Pointing to my common left carotid artery.

"I'm not allowed to inject anything into the blood stream, just simple stuff like putting Iv's in."

"Well you're about to learn. Stick the needle in about two or three millimeters in at a forty five degree angle facing toward my chest, then draw back the plunger to make sure you hit the right carotid artery. Second step, press the red button on the side to remove the needle and leave the plastic tube inside. Then press the plunger at a rate of five CC's per second, stopping at the twenty three second mark for ten seconds." I said, didactically.

"Wait wait wait, I'm not sure I can do this. What if I mess up and damage your artery?" Jacqueline asked with concern.

"Well if you were to inject the fluid to quickly, my artery would rupture, killing me. But I have faith you'll do fine." I said, with a reassuring smile.

"I'll try my best." She self-critically said.

"Ok, where was I… Right, After waiting for ten seconds, inject the rest, still at five CC's per second. Then pull the syringe out and prepare for me to sleep for a while. Sam would you please show the nice lady where the giver of life is."

"Yes sir." The pod's door opened and a drawer in the medical section lit up red. "Jacqueline the R.S.K Is in the red area, it's filled with a black liquid."

I could hear the music playing and I started humming along with it. Jacqueline walked over the few feet to the medical section and pulled opened the drawer. "GASP. Elliot, you want me to put this into your neck, ARE YOU CRAZY!?" Jacqueline said with horror as she held up the 236 CC Syringe, with what looked like tar in in it. The needle being a 16 gauge IV.

I was now quietly singing along to the song. _"This is what its like when we collide, this is how you bring me back to life."_

"ELLIOT!"

"Huh… I've used these before and I know they work. On the outside I know they look like the last thi. . ."

"Fine, lets just get this over with." Jacqueline said, walking back to the left side of the stretcher.

Actually you want to be on the right, it doesn't hurt as much there." Jacqueline moved to the right side of the stretcher.

"Can this thing come up so I have a better injection angle. And are you sure my hands are sterile enough, I me. . ."

"Jacqueline, you'll do fine." Raising the table up to her chest level by pressing a button on the right side of the stretcher. "Now, tell me what you're going to do."

"I'm going to Inject the needle at a forty five degree angle, toward your chest. Pushing the needle in two to three millimeters. Then check if I hit the artery by pulling the plunger back a tiny bit. Then press the red button to retract the steel needle, leaving the plastic IV. And finally inject the liquid at five CC's per second for twenty three seconds, wait ten seconds then inject the rest at the same rate. How was that?" She asked, looking at me with a mixture of fear, worry and doubt.

"You'll do excellent. Here's the injection spot." Putting my index finger just to the right of my throat, while tilting my head back so Jacqueline could achieve the proper injection angle.

"Shiiiitt, I kind of regret coming here right now." She said, getting the needle close to my throat.

"Oh one more thing, I can't talk during this."

"Duly noted." Jacqueline said as I closed my eyes and prepared for the gut wrenching pain that would insure.

* * *

-==fifty seconds later==-

"That was the most nerve racking thing in my life." Jacqueline said while visibly shaking and putting the empty syringe in the medical section.

"Just relax, you. . . _Yawn. . ._ Did great." Already feeling tired from the R.S.K. "Sammm." I whined. "Get her situated." I said as the Bubble drone concluded its sweep, and landed next to the Communications station, before shutting off.

"Yes sir." Sam replied.

"Night Jacqueline." I said drifting off to sleep.

"I'll see you when you wake up spaceman." She happily said.

"Mmmmhhmmmm. . . Snore. Snore snore"

* * *

-=Jacqueline Pov=-

"Giggle giggle, So now what do I do."

"Well, I can show you around the humble abode." Sam said.

"Sure, but should I give Elliot a blanket or something?"

"Naa, I'm monitoring his body temperature. He's fine for right now. I'm just going to put him under the door of the drone bay." Sam said, taking control of the stretcher and moving it to the opposite side of the security pod. When he got there the wall of a door flipped up, just like the side with the medical supplies and the weapons.

Jacqueline followed and looked in amazement when the door opened.

"This computer, is-is-is..." She tried to say.

"Me." Sam stated. "This is my entire existence, all contained right here."

Jacqueline continued to look at the various wires, spheres, and tapered cylinders running through the pod. She eventually noticed some sort of blue glowing sphere, buried behind some other electrical components, with what seemed like electricity running over the surface. It seemed to levitate and spin in random directions, with rods positioned all around it, but not touching.

"What's that?" She asked.

"You'll have to describe it, I don't have eyes right now." Sam replied.

"Uhh, it's a blue glowing ball with, almost like, probes surrounding it." Jacqueline said with uncertainty.

"That's the main power core, it's very complicated. But in essence, it's a reactor that Powers everything from the light's, to me."

"Speaking of that, How do you work? I've never seen a computer capable of this." Jacqueline asked, closely inspecting the computer system, but making sure not to touch anything.

"I'm a quantum computing artificial intelligence, designed to be the trainer of the Strategic defense initiative students."

"Who were they?"

"Sorry Jacqueline, It's classified."

Oh, that's fine. So how about these. What are they?" Jacqueline pointed to the curvy black drones sitting in the bay, un-activated. They're about four feet in wingspan by Jacqueline's estimates.

"I CAN, tell you about these. Want to see them fly?" Sam asked with enthusiasm.

"Absolutely." Jacqueline replied.

The Three drones were moved outside the pocket via pneumatic tray on rails. Once the drones were clear of the door, they started up, took off, and looked at Jacqueline with their single, blue camera eye.

"What are they called?" Jacqueline asked, trying to reach out and touch one, unsuccessfully.

"Their Martha Mark twelves. They're designed for security and reconnaissance. They have Sirens, blue and red police lights, and Tesla guns to disable targets. Girls if you would demonstrate on one of yourselves please."

Jacqueline looked at the drones with confusion as they huddled in a circle, while making various noises. "What are they doing?" Jacqueline asked.

"Arguing about who's going to get shot with the Tesla cannon. It's kind of funny actually, they're linked to my main cpu, but they're separate entity's. I can actually see what you look like now." Sam stated.

"So..." Jacqueline started to say, but was interrupted by two of the Martha's turning on their police lights and deploying the Tesla cannons, which were recessed in the wings. The Tesla cannons looked like clear hollow glass tubes, about and 1.5 inches in diameter, which poked out of the front of the wing, toward the inside half. The lights were flashing from near the wingtips, two red flashes followed by two blue flashes.

The two with the lights on started slowly side strafing around the single target drone. Jacqueline could see that the single blue eyes on the circling drones had turned red. The drones continued to circle the one in the middle for a few more seconds, until it took off in a blur, creating a small dust trail on the ground. The two other Martha's followed suit chasing the lone drone, and they almost instantaneously disappeared from Jacqueline's view.

"Jacqueline, go ahead and climb on the pod so you can see. I've told them to wait for you to climb up before they continue with the demonstration." Sam said.

Jacqueline walked to one of the ends of the pods and started to climb up, but she slipped and started to fall. To her surprise, the three Drones were watching her patiently, and when she slipped, one of them caught her by shooting under her rear paw's, which landed just on each side of the body, at the base of each wing. The done then pushed her on top of the pod.

"Umm, thanks Martha Number one." Jacqueline said looking at the white serial number M-01 on the left side of the body, right above the wing.

The drone responded with a friendly sounding "Waaaa" Starting from high pitch to low. Backing away, the Martha's eye switched red and the police lights turned on as they continued the mock chase. The drones were moving with such speed and grace, which the likes of Jacqueline hadn't ever seen before.

"What did she say to me?" Jacqueline wondered, as she continued to watch the drones fly around the meadow, sometimes disappearing into the trees for a few seconds, before reappearing.

"She said, you're welcome." Sam replied, just as the fleeing drone was shot with a bolt of lightning. The lead chase drone fired its Tesla cannons, sending dozens on small blue bolts of lightning into the Fleeing Martha. As the electricity hit the drone, it's entire outer shell started arcing to other parts of the shell from the voltage.

CRRAACK

The drone immediately crashed, leaving a small trail of dirt where it skidded.

"Is it ok?" She asked, slightly concerned.

"Yes, Martha 02 is fine. The voltage is set very low. Their just showing you what would really happen."

The two police drones Started slowly side strafing the fallen one, before shutting off the lights and closing the weapon doors. The fallen drone then took off, and they all flew over to where Jacqueline was sitting on the pod, lining up in front of her.

Jacqueline started clapping. "That was super cool, thanks guys." She beamed at them.

The drones all beeped a few times, while looking at Jacqueline with their blue eyes. Then moved a little closer to Jacqueline and surrounded her.

"What are they doing?" She asked, slightly concerned.

"Their just curious about you. They've never seen a walking, talking animal before, remember. I haven't either, and I must say, You're quite similar to the species found on our planet" Sam said.

"Oh, ok." Jacqueline reached out to touch a drone again, and this time it let her reach it. Jacqueline ran her paw along the cold nose section of the drone as it watched her. "You guys are beyond amazing."

The drones made a cooing sound before slowly flying to where Elliot was laying, asleep. They started some kind of scanner that emitted from the nose, which looked just like the one on the Bubble drone.

The scanner's coming from all three drones covered him from head to toe, before shutting off and the drones huddling up again. They started making various sounds to each other.

"Sam, what are they saying?" Jacqueline asked as she was getting ready do drop off the pod.

"They're talking about his injuries. They want to know who did it." Sam said as Jacqueline walked up to Elliot.

"I don't know who did it. The nurses don't get that kind of info." Walking up to the lightly snoring Elliot.

Jacqueline watched Elliot sleep for a few seconds before raking her paw through his dark brown hair. "I do wish the circumstances between us were better. I know that you said it was for the best, but I just can't stop thinking about you for some reason."

"Someone has a crush, someone has a crush." Sam said wryly. Jacqueline eyes instantly went wide and her ears Laid flat on her head.

"Did I really just say that out loud?" She tensely stated.

"Sure did, I won't tell anyone, but don't count on the three stooges over there." Sam said, referring to the drones.

* * *

-=Drone Pov, 15 seconds earlier=-

The drones had all stopped their chatter as Jacqueline spouted her unintentional sentence. They stared, unbeknownst to Jacqueline.

"Did she really just say that?" M-01 asked, in the undecipherable language.

"I think she did." M-03 stated.

"OOH, we are so going to get them together." M-01 enthusiastically said.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, what if he doesn't like her back?" M-02 Asked with apprehension.

"Girl's, if you so much as give either one of them a nudge, I will lock you up in here forever." Sam barged in, talking through the communications receiver.

"What If Elliot want's us for a mission." M-01 said with confidence, that was instantly shattered when her thrusters sputtered for a second.

"Test me, I dare you." Sam stated with authority.

"But look at them Ma-am, They would be totally jast together." M-03 said with a mix of nervousness and excitement from the possible backlash from Sam, and the thought of Elliot being in a relationship.

"I know right." M-01 said.

"I don't know, they aren't even the same species. Look at her, we don't even know if she's compatible with his chromosomes." M-02 said.

"Ok first off, They've only know each other for a few days, I understand it would be a problem in the future. But nothing some genetic splicing couldn't solve." M-03 said, briefly looking to the right at M-02 before returning her gaze to Jacqueline.

"I know, but the Captain said he never wanted to be altered in any way, ever." M-02 Stated.

Meanwhile Jacqueline. Had just finished her second sentence. A true testament to the drones processing speed.

"Ma-am, permission to scan Jacqueline?" M-01 asked, wanting an answer to some of her questions.

"Denied, I'll find out if there compatible or not. To be honest, I want to see Crawford move past his Wife, but pushing them together isn't the best option. Elliot stated it would be for the best if they didn't fall in love, so it'll need some major work." Sam said, while simultaneously talking to Jacqueline.

"Hey, We aren't the three stooges." M-01 said, offended.

"You don't even know what they are." M-03 Replied looking to the right, past M-02.

"Listen, It doesn't matter. You go do something productive while I talk to, S.S. in love over here." Sam said.

"Yes Ma-am." They replied in unison. Before slowly flying to the middle of the meadow, talking as they flew.

* * *

-=Jacqueline Pov, Present=-

"What's the three stooges?" She inquired, resuming her stroking of Elliot's hair.

The stretcher was sitting on the ground so Jacqueline had sat down, leaning on a covered part of the electronics of the pod. Her legs laying above Elliot's head. By this time it was about 9:30 and the sun was shining on the opposite side of the pod, leaving The two in the shade.

"It was a Television show from the 1930's, almost fourteen hundred years ago. It isn't really relevant."

"How do you know all of this stuff. I know you're a computer and all, but it seems like a lot to know." Jacqueline asked, re-positioning herself so she was laying next to Elliot, continuing to pet his hair. Her petting caused a small smile to from on Elliot's face. " _Aww, how cute."_ Jacqueline thought.

"Well I know almost everything the human race knows. I could have advanced the human race much farther, but they don't allow me to upgrade myself or things around me, unless given explicit permission." Sam said with anguish in her voice. "I Know why they don't let me, but I would never do anything to harm the human race." She almost yelled in frustration.

"Sounds like you need to have a talk with spaceman here. He might lift your restrictions." Jacqueline said, starting to feel sleepy.

"That's a good idea. But I don't think he'll do it." Sam said with doubt.

"He told me you practically raised him. Don't you think some trust would come from that. You should ask him." She reassuringly said.

"I'll ask him when he wakes up. But for now, you should get some rest, I have to deal with the wonder triplets, they seem to be causing some panic in the city." Sam said with annoyance.

Jacqueline simply giggled a few times before closing her eyes for a nap.

* * *

-==Martha Pov, a few minutes earlier==-

"So what should we do?" M-03 asked, Looking at her wing-mates that together, formed a triangle.

"Let's go explore, maybe help the local law enforcement." M-01 said.

"Yes Ma-am." They replied before flying up a few hundred meters to get a better view.

The drones could see to their right, train tracks that crossed a body of water and led into a city. To their left they could see the tracks disappear over the horizon, about 120 miles away.

"I want to go to the city." M-02 said.

"Agreed." M-03 said, looking at M-01 for approval.

"Then it's settled. To the city we go." M-01 replied, turning toward the city.


	9. Chapter 9: Diplomatic relations

**A/N: Good thing it wan't a train coming, I really thought that was it for a second. Anyway, Hopefully you are noticing the improvement in my grammar by now, although I still find it deplorable.**

* * *

 _Chapter Nine_

 _Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught just as often as the bold._

* * *

"Then it's settled. To the city we go." M-01 replied, accelerating toward the city.

The other two sleek, black drones, followed suit and darted towards the looming city that was almost at the horizon. Within a few seconds, they broke the sound barrier and the entire mid section, back, was engulfed in a white vapor cone.

"So what are we going to do?" M-03 asked.

"Well, I figured we would do a little exploring and help out the locals in any way we can. Sam told me The city doesn't like Elliot, so We'll try to improve that outlook." M-01 stated, starting a shallow dive for the same train that was seen by Elliot a while ago. It was currently on the long bridge that towered over the gulf surrounding The city.

As the other two drones followed suit, they slowed down to subsonic speeds and flew on either side of the train that was barreling down the tracks.

"One fifty. Pretty Impressive from the technology accessible to them." M-03 chirped.

"Ehh, if they used Mag-lev and streamlined the outside, it could go much faster." M-02 Criticized while looking at the large steel wheels rolling on the tracks.

M-03 had flown to the forward observation deck on the train and was looking inside the glass bubble, while flying parallel on the left of the cabin. She could see a few rabbits looking at the city, that is until they spotted her.

"Mommy look." A young rabbit said, pointing to the black, winged aircraft.

"What is it sweety?" The white, mother rabbit said while turning around. The second her eyes met the drone's, they went wide and her ears laid back. "Jimmy come here." She said, pulling the small boy away from the window.

"Hey boss, some of them are scared of me. What do I do?" M-03 asked.

M-01 was busy weaving through the pillars of the bridge. Hearing M-03, she stopped her game, and flew up to the right side of the observation deck, where there were several animals were watching in interest.

"Turn on you're lights for a few seconds. They might think it's some new kind of police tool." She said, flashing the police lights on and off a few times. M-03 followed suit, which caused the rabbits and various smaller animals inside that had worry on their faces switch into curiosity.

"This sure is an interesting place." M-01 said, looking at the two drastically different districts that were in view.

The drones continued to fly along the railway, first through Sahara square, then Tundra town. They were still following the train closely as they looked around the glacial district.

"That was pretty stupid to put a desert environment right next to a snow one, don't you think." M-03 commented.

"They probably use the snow generators to cool the heat generators." M-01 replied to which both others Hummed. The Martha's continued to follow the train through the white landscape and into the jungle of the Rainforest district.

"Now that's just plain idiotic." M-01 said, gesturing to the red, hot air balloon that was carrying a box through a gap in a bridge that was hanging about thirty feet above the train. The road had folded up and the box was moving through the gap that was made, while the balloon floated above it.

"Who the hell would think that was a good idea. Just fly a few feet higher, or take up the miles of slack on that cable." M-02 said, agreeing to M-01. The three continued to fly behind the train and were eventually pulling up to a train station with massive spires rising above each corner of the building.

The followed the train into the large, hanger like structure of the station and headed for an exit. As they flew along at a modest pace, Multiple animals pointed and pulled out their phones to take a picture of the marvels of technology.

"Hey look, we've been here five minutes and we have fans." M-03 joked.

She went to face the gathering of mammals, but was redirected by M-01's order to keep moving. They eventually flew out one of the eight or so permanently open entrances. Once the drones were outside the station and had gained a few meters of elevation, they took in the soundings. To the right was a large tan structure with grass on the roof and the word Police, in gray, above the door. Directly in front of them was a small grass park with a pond in the middle. And to the left was a tall, white, spike like building with City Hall in bold, golden letters, above the entrance. Mammals were milling about in different directions, some stopping to look at the Martha's, and some outright avoiding them.

"Can we set down for a few minutes, one of my ailerons are acting up." M-02 said, turning to the other two.

"Are you serious, I told you not to go diving into the dirt like that." M-01 said, irritated at M-02's stage play.

"Well I wanted to put on a good show. I just need to run Di-ag and reboot." She replied.

"Yeah, go ahead, we'll watch your back." M-01 said, turning to the direction of the park.

The three flew over to a cluster of flat rocks the were on the far side, next to the pond, and M-02 touched down, sitting at an angle due to not having landing gear. She started the system diagnostics and the other two started scanning for physical damage. Onlookers watched as The two flying craft emitted a blue plane of light, which moved over the fallen craft. After roughly a minute of scanning the craft stopped emitting light.

"No physical damage detected. how's the Di-ag coming along?" M-03 asked.

"All done, I just need to reboot to reflect the changes."

"Copy, make it snappy. We have an entire entourage of curious animals." M-01 said, looking at the dozens of mammals holding up cameras and phones.

"Reboot in five…four...three...two...one..." M-02 said, before a spooling down noise was made and it's recessed blue eye flickered a few times before turning a dark, lifeless color.

The other two decided on taking a closer look at the crowd. As they started to move towards a section of animals, the assemblage backed away just as quickly as the drones moved up. So instead of perusing, M-01 and M-03 just turned around and went back to their fallen friend. A few more seconds went by before something was barging through the crowd, coming from the direction of the police station.

"Prepare for possible contacts to the north." M-01 said sternly. "Don't deploy weapons until we know it's hostile."

"Rodger that Ma-am." M-03 replied, creating a defensive barrier between the unknown and M-02.

Eventually the front of the crowd parted and two police officers came through. The first was a Tiger and the second was a tan wolf. Almost instantly, the entire crowed of people was being moved back by other police officers who appeared from the crowd.

"This is the Zootopia Police department, identify yourself." Came from the tiger, who was holding a megaphone.

"What's the play boss?" M-03 asked, looking at the entire line of officers forming a half circle around them. The police couldn't make an entire circle due to the pond being just behind where M-02 was laying. So there were a few officers waiting at edge of the far side of the pond, with officers behind them, forming a loose barrier around the entire park.

"I'll say hello, just turn on your lights for now." M-01 said as she turned on her police lights, causing the blue eye to turn red, and approached the Tiger. Then she turned her radio to the police frequency.

"Hello my name is Martha. We, are security drones commissioned by Core Dynamics. Hew may we help you today?" Was heard through every police walki-talkie at once.

"Uhh, Fangmeyer, how'd it get our frequency?" The wolf asked.

"I don't know." He replied, while shrugging his shoulders and looking down and to the right at the wolf. "Well Martha, you should know that piloting drones in the city is illegal. We're going to confiscate these, but you can retrieve them by coming in and paying the fine."

"Sorry officer, you don't seem to understand. Nobody's controlling us. We're an artificial intelligence." M-01 said through the radio.

"Ok I'm back online. Holy crap, what's going on!?" M-02 said in shock as she lifted off the ground.

"The police apparently think we're some kind of RC toy. Just turn on your light's and play along." M-03 replied.

"Uh-huh sure, we'll see about that after your toys are in the holding bay for a few days." The tiger said as An officer fired a net gun at M-01, which hit and covered the drone, but did absolutely nothing.

"Ma-am do you need help?" M-02 said with worry.

"Negative, just don't get hit." She replied, still hovering as the net began to light on fire from the jet exhaust in the back.

"Sir what do we do? The net didn't bring down the drone, and the other two are evading any attempts of capture." Fangmayer said through the radio.

"Is the net hanging off the plane?" Bogo Asked through the radio.

"Yes sir." Judy said through the radio before Fangmayer could respond.

"Then pull that thing out of the sky!" He yelled, causing every officer to jump in surprise.

Martha knew what was going to happen but played along and let the officers get a hold of the net.

"Ma-am are you sure this is a good idea?" M-02 asked as M-01 was being reeled in.

"Yeah, just let the officers catch you."

"Yes Ma-am." M-01 and 02 said in unison.

After all three drones were brought down, the officers looked for an off button.

"I can't find anything." Fangmayer said.

"Well hurry the fuck up, were losing it!" A female elephant yelled angrily, as she and the Rhino next to her struggled to avoid the jet wash, and keep the drone on the ground.

"LOL, These cops are too funny. They can barely hold me down and I'm not even trying." M-02 said, her voice full of mischief.

"I said let them get a hold of you, not make them struggle for every inch." M-01 ordered.

"Sorry ma-am." She said, submitting to the hold.

"3, how's it going over there?" M-01 asked.

"Good. Because I didn't put up a struggle, they aren't even holding me down. I get to look at this adorable rabbit who's just staring at me." She replied enthusiastically.

* * *

-=Judy Pov=-

"Nick, I'm telling you, this isn't just some toy." Judy had a paw on her chin.

"Of course it is, do you know how advanced drones are today. Remember what happened last time."

"Don't remind me." She said, moving closer to the blue eye in the center that was tracking her. Judy had put her paws on the nose and was looking closely at the drone, which by this point had shut off it's police lights and thrusters. Just for a second the Blue eye flickered back to red.

"Nick Did you see that."

"Yeah fluff, I defiantly saw what you were looking at from here." He said sarcastically, while laying on his back from underneath the right wing, as he looked for an off button. This earned him a small kick to the leg, which missed its mark and hit his crotch.

Nick Yipped loudly and eventually said something. "….FF...FF...FFuuuckkk!" Came out as he grabbed his crotch and whimpered in pain. Most of the officers standing around them winced at the sight of the bunny's foot lodging into his balls. "OOH" Was unanimously heard from the officers.

"Oh my gosh, Nick I'm So So So So So So sorry!" Judy said, not sure what to do.

Nick continued to whimper from under the wing that was supported by two milk crates stacked on each other.

"C-C-Carrrrrottssss, Whyyyyyy?"

"Nick, I'm so sorry, I meant to kick your leg and, and, I just. . ."

"You owe me dinner." Nick said with his teeth gritted, interrupting Judy.

"Yes absolutely." She replied, kneeling in front of Nicks face, which was pointed toward the aft of the drone.

"Wow, you really know how to show a man how much you like him." M-03 said through the radio, while trying to hold back laughter. This caused Judy to pull out her radio and press the talk button.

"Who is this?" Chief Bogo replied before Judy could..

"Martha 03, At your service."

"Cut the crap. I could pull you up on interfering with a police investigation. Now who the hell is this." He demanded.

"Ma-am What do I say?" Asking M-01 on their channel.

"I got this." M-02 said.

"Hello officers. My name is Morgan freeman, and I am amazing." She said in a perfect faux voice.

The other two drones instantly burst into laughter, creating an actual laughing noise that all the surrounding officers could hear, causing multiple eyebrows to raise.

"Well Morgan freeman, You're in big trouble." Bogo said, none the wiser. His comment caused all three drones to laugh even harder.

* * *

-=Sam Pov=-

"I'll ask him when he wakes up. But for now, you should get some rest, I have to deal with the wonder triplets, they seem to be causing some panic in the city." Sam said with annoyance.

Jacqueline simply giggled a few times before curling up next to Elliot and closing her eyes for a nap.

"You better have a good explanation Missy." Sam said, puling up the video feed on the three.

"HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa." Was the only response Sam received.

"HEY!" The drones instantly shut up. "What the hell did you do!?" Sam angrily demanded as she looked at the multiple officers in the view of the drones.

"W-we went to explore but the police think we're an RC toy." M-01 explained in a terrified state.

"That's all?" Sam asked, slightly confused.

"Y-yes Ma-am." M-02 confirmed.

"Well then why did you let them catch you, and why were you laughing so hard?" Sam asked, no longer irritated.

She could see the drones vision, looking at various police members, including the rabbit Elliot talked to when he first went through the portal.

"We let them catch us so the police wouldn't be afraid. And we were laughing from a buildup of a few things." M-01 stated.

"Yeah, the rabbit I'm looking at accidentally kicked a fox officer in the testicles, HARD." M-03 added, trying not to burst into laughter again.

"Ooo." Sam digitally recoiled at the footage that she pulled from M-03.

"Yeah and then some angry guy demanded who we were because he didn't believe we were AI, so I faked Morgan freeman through their radios." M-02 said.

Sam pulled up the footage too and started giggling from it. "how'd you even know about him?"

"We're synced to your drives remember." M-01 said, while looking at a buffalo walk up to her. "This guy looks like he holds some power."

"Yeah, that's Chief Bogo. Elliot was interrogated by him."

Bogo stood in front of M-01 with a glare that could kill. Sam saw this and finally had enough.

"Scare them with the sirens and lights. Escape and form a lateral, Counterclockwise, triangular spiral over the pond, Then deploy Tesla weaponry, I will talk for you. On my mark, Three...two...one...mark." Sam ordered calmly.

* * *

 **(Friction- Imagine dragons)**

* * *

The drones did as instructed and all at once, activated the sirens, which caused their captors jump and loosen their grip. Instantly turning on the thrusters to full power, they took off. Then flew over the pond and formed the counterclockwise spiral, aiming their Tesla weaponry at the police when they came into view. Sam shut off the sirens and took control of the loud speaker on the three drones to address the police, who were frantically trying to recover.

"Hello Zootopia Police department. My name is Sam." She started to say in her British voice, but was interrupted by a net gun being fired at the drones, which was avoided. "As is was saying, My name is Sam. I'm an Artificial intelligence designed by the federation of planet's. These drones are Part of my security force." She continued.

By this time, swat had shown up and the pond was being surround by Police in black uniforms, some carrying tranquilizer rifles, some having shields.

"I'm here to provide assistance to your police force if necessary, but if you open fire, they will retaliate."

Just as She finished her sentence, a Swat member fired an electric cartridge at the Martha's, which missed. In retaliation, the Martha fired dozens of small, blue electrical bolts emanating from the Two argon laced Tesla cannons, at the officer. After a quarter of a second, the drone ceased fire and the officer was left unconscious on the ground.

"As I was saying, Any attempt to fire upon the drones will be met with equal force. To contact me with your answer about our help, just use your radio, I'll be monitoring the frequency. Goodbye." Sam said, queuing the drones to leave.

Before the drones could move however, a Swat member shot M-01 with A shotgun. In return, the drone instantly whipped around to where the bear was standing, and fired dozens of bolts of lightning at him. Causing the bear to topple over. What Ensued was the stupidest thing the police could have done. To the distress of Chief Bogo saying to stand down, The Swat opened fire with everything they had. The drones broke formation and were systematically taking down every police member in the park, starting from the most dangerous to least. Officers were found taking cover behind anything they could. Chief Bogo, Nick, and Judy had retreated to behind one of the squad cars in the police station parking lot, just to the right of the entrance.

"Sir what do we do!?" Judy asked frantically. As sounds of both gunfire and electricity could be heard in the background.

"Hold your fire!" Chief Bogo yelled through the radio, to no avail. "SHIT! We stay here and hold our fire. If what that voice said is exactly right, only those who fire at the drones will be fired upon."

"Are you sure, what if we could maybe..." Judy said, but was interrupted by Bogo.

"NO! We wait this out, and hope those drones don't kill everyone."

The swat was taken down first, due to their weapons, leaving just the officers with there tranquilizers. By this point the park was littered with shell casings, unconscious police, and police still trying to take down the seemingly invincible drones. The battle ensued for another thirty seconds, with the Martha's mowing down the police like grass. By the end of it, the entire police department of precinct one had been defeated by the three black drones that could fit in a car. The remaining police were ones who had surrendered. The Martha's had lined them up with their Paws on their heads, One was scanning the standing officers while the other two were scanning the fallen ones.

"Sir what do you see?" Judy asked.

Chief Bogo peaked his head over the car, and what he saw caused absolute terror. There were Dozens of bodies sprawled everywhere. Officers were being lined up and disarmed, while the fallen ones were being scanned by two of the three drones.

"A few officers have been taken prisoner, and the drones are doing something with a blue field of light."

"What do you mean, a few officers." Judy said, trying to get a view over the car.

"There all dead." Bogo replied grimly. Judy and Nick's ears instantly dropped, and Judy started to well up.

"This is chief Bogo to all units. Can anyone hear me?" Nothing responded. "I say again..." Bogo started to say, but was interrupted by the sound of a police siren approaching them.

"Come out with your hands up." Was blasted through a megaphone as M-02 side strafed around the front of the car, into the view of the hiding officers. "You will not be harmed if you fully comply."

Pfff Tink

Nick had drawn his tranquilizer and fired it into the drone. "NOOO!" Judy cried.

CRRRRRAAAACK

Nick toppled over from the drone's weapon. Immediately the blue scanner started covering Nick, followed by three high pitch dings coming from the drone.

"Y-Y-You killed him." Judy choked out as she hovered over the lifeless Nick, her ears laid back and tears streaming down her cheeks.

"You're mistaken. He's just unconscious, as are the other officers. Now, come with me." M-01 ordered.

Once Judy and Bogo were lined up with the other officers, Sam piped up again.

"Well, I must say, that was one of the most idiotic things I have ever seen. Why didn't you listen to the order to stand down? Well!"

…

"Chief bogo, I must say your officers need some serious training in following orders. Do you want to say anything to them? Or me for that matter." By this time the Maratha's police lights had turned off and the Tesla weapons were retracted. Most of the fallen police officers had woken up and were led into a grid like formation in front of the Stations steps, by the Martha's. There were also several News helicopters circling overhead.

"Yes… WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK WERE YOU THINKING!" He bellowed to the injured and disoriented officers from the top of the stairs. To Bogo's surprise, his voice was being broadcasted through the drones megaphones. "WHEN I TELL YOU TO HOLD YOUR FIRE, I EXPECT IT!" All the officers had an ashamed look on their faces, some looking at the ground, while some were looking at the drones with fury in their eyes for revenge.

-==Twenty Minutes later==-

* * *

Bogo had finally finished chewing out the officers in front of Precinct 1. More officers from different precincts had siphoned in, and were confused about the drones lined up behind and above chief Bogo, all watching vigilantly. Nick and Judy were standing behind him, off to the side and were chatting, Which Bogo didn't mind for the most part, because they were the only one's who followed his orders.

"Finally, to get to the Drones that absolutely wiped the floor with you. Sam, I would like you to follow Officers Wild and Hopps for the rest of the day to determine if you are effective at police protocol." He said while turning around, looking at one of the drones that had lowered to his level.

"Yes sir." The drone replied through the megaphone, but in a lowered level, before flying over the where Nick and Judy were talking.

"Let me know when you're ready. Also, if you want to talk to Elliot, I can put him on the line." Sam said through M-01

Judy proceeded to punch Nick in the arm. "Told you, Dumb Fox. I knew You were one of Elliot's toys." She exclaimed.

"Fine you were right, all knowing bunny. But you still owe me dinner, And you." Pointing at the blue eye of the Martha. "Owe me some serious flight time on the wingsuit buddy. That really hurt."

"First, I'm not Elliot talking. Second, you're lucky I had the drones set on stun, not pain or kill." Hearing this, Nick's eyes widened up. "Besides, I told everyone present that if they opened fire, this would happen." Sam Finished.

"I still want a ride for compensation." He crossed his arms.

"OOH can I have one too, just around the park. Pleeeeezzzz." Judy said, laying her ears back and putting on a sad face.

"Well since you asked so nicely, officer Hopps. It's fine with me but you have to convince Martha."

This caused Nick's expression to change from smug, to disbelief.

"Martha pleeeeeeeeeeeeez." Judy asked, putting on her best pouty face.

The Martha let out a robotic chuckle and lowered herself so Judy could climb aboard.

"Not here." She playfully hissed, to which the drone raised back up to eye level.

"After you officers" Martha said, which startled Nick and Judy due to the change in voice.

"Why did your voice change?" Nick asked.

"My voice didn't change. You were talking to Sam, I'm Martha 01."

"Huh, That's cool. So are you ready to go? We have a big day of stopping crime ahead of us." Judy chirped.

"Yes Ma-am." She replied sternly.

"I wish every officer was as disciplined as you." Judy commented.

"Well Ma-am, You're now my superior, so You're no longer Judy." M-01 said as she followed the duo that were walking into the police station.

* * *

-=Unknown Pov=-

"GASSSSPPP…..GASSSPPP" I thought it would all end there, Our ship was about to explode and it was my fault. I had been sucked into the vacuum of space and was suffocating. then that Purple portal sucked me in, and her I am. Breathing, and living a little bit longer. As I regained my breath, I looked around my surroundings and could see I was on a mountain, overlooking a large city.

"Where the hell Am I?" I asked myself.

"Your on a planet in the Norma arm of the milky-way galaxy." A eerie voice said from behind me.

I instantly turned around, drawing my sidearm. "Who the hell are you!?" I demanded as I pointed my sidearm at the figure in a black cloak with Red trim, the cloak was shrouding his face.

"I. . . Am you." He said, voice changing to match mine. As he took off the hood I Almost fell down from shock as the figure in front of me, was ME!

"Bull shit! You have a body hologram on. Now who, the fuck, are you?" I demanded again.

"You can call me whatever you want, but For all intensive purposes, let go with the Destroyer." He said, forming a grin that sent shivers down my spine. Just from hearing his name, made up my mind, I opened fire. After firing about fifteen rounds in three seconds, my pistol disassembled its self, falling to the ground as individual pieces. I looked up at the Destroyer, who continued to have the evil grin on his face.

"What are you?" I asked, now terrified at how he had just taken fifteen Armor piercing incendiary rounds to the chest and face without making a dent.

"Well for starters, that's not how to treat the person who rescued you. After all you would have died along with the rest of Joshua's Crew."

"I would say thanks, but I have a feeling you didn't just rescue me for nothing." I said, making sure to keep my distance from the impregnable foe.

"Correct-a-mundo, You are going to kill as many people as you can, but above all else, You'll kill Joshua Abrams."

"I would never kill him. Nothing will ever make me change my mind." I said, trying to hide my terror.

"Oh but you won't have a choice in the matter." Instantly, he was holding my neck in a death grip. I tried to escape to no avail. Then he injected a syringe into my neck and let me go.

"What was that?" I asked feeling my head start to burn.

"Nantes. By the time I'm done with you, you wont remember your own name." He said with the grin returning to his face.

"F-Fuck that hurts!" I said holding my head as I collapsed.

"Suffer with the pain of a thousand deaths." He said, before laughing at my pain.

* * *

-==Twenty minutes later==-

"AHHHHHHHHH FUUUUCKKK You!"

"You're more resistant that I imagined you would be, but we'll get there." He said, turning off the pain.

"Pant. . .Pant. . . Pant. Fuck you. I'll never forget my name, or anything else!"

"Really, what's your best friends name?" He said with a devilish grin.

"His name is, is. . . YOU MOTHERFUCKER!"

"Oh so harsh. . . What's you're name?" He mocked while bending over to be closer to my face, his hands were clasped behind his back.

"Ben! And I'll never forget it!" I screamed in rebellion. I may have forgotten some things but something as simple as my name, I wouldn't ever forget that.

"Last name?" He asked

"Anderson You sick Bastard. Lieutenant Ben Anderson of the. . .the. . .Fuck!"

"Well, were nearly there." The destroyer said with a menacing look. Before he continued his work.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

-==One hour later==-

"What is your name?"

"I-uh, I don't know." I said honestly. I wasn't sure who this person was or why I was here. I fact, Why does my head hurt. Before I could say anything else, the strange man was holding onto my arm with one hand, and my shoulder with the other. In an instant my arm was separated from my shoulder with a sinister mix of breaking bone and ripping flesh.

"GAAHHHHHHH." As I clenched my arm socket that was now bleeding profusely, I looked in horror as I could see tendons, parts of veins and arteries, and mangled muscle, Dangling out of the socket.

"Noooo Ple-AHHHHHHHH!" I screamed as he repeated the motion on my other arm.

"Suffer, suffer like the pathetic nothing you are."

"AHHH. . . . W-W-Why?" Was all I managed to get out, before my grabbed my leg. "No please I'm begging GAHHHHHHH!" Once again I could hear and feel my bone break and flesh rip apart as The monster of a man ripped my leg right off.

"You're a m-m-monster." I whimpered.

"I know, and I'm proud of it." He said with a grin as he grabbed my last remaining limb. This time taking his time to pull it off slowly. First my leg popped out of the socket, then the skin started to slowly rip apart.

"You MotherfuckAHHHHHH!" The leg was ripped of the rest of the way, then discarded like a spare part.

"Now the building process can begin."

* * *

-==Five minutes later==-

The strange man who was really just a monster in sheep's clothing, had materialized four robotic limbs and installed them on my body. He had somehow levitated all that was left of my body into the air, and the robotic limbs just floated into place. The limbs were some type of military device as far as I could tell, Having carbon fiber covering them. "W-why do this to me?" I asked, terrified of what answer I might get.

"You will need it to defeat Your enemy."

"Right now, you're my enemy." I said standing up with a wobble, the Destroyer walked toward me, and I tied to run away, but was unable. "pl-please don't hurt me anymore." I whimpered, just as he touched my head.

* * *

-=3rd person Pov=-

"There, all better?" The destroyer asked.

"Huh. . . Who are you?" Ben asked.

"My name is Achmetha. I save your life."

"Oh, well thank you." Ben replied. "It's nice to meet you, my name is, um.."

"Your name Is Alex Thaddeus White. You won't remember anything from your life due to What happened to you." Achmetha said while walking away, motioning Alex to follow.

"Wait, what happened to me. How come I don't remember my name. . . Alex sounds right, but I just don't remember." He said, distraught at the situation.

"A certain man attacked you and your people. He used his advanced technology to wipe your species from the planet." Achmetha continued to make up a story about how Alex Lost his arms and legs in a battle to save his people. By the end of his faux story, Alex believed every word that came out of his mouth.

"How can I kill him? Alex almost demanded.

"Death? No we won't kill him. First we'll make him suffer as you're people have. To do this you will need help, so I have some gifts for you. The first is a captured weapon used in his Scorched earth policy. This is a generation Four Neutron bomb. I want you two detonate it in the most populated area you can find."

"But it fits in my hands." He said looking at the silver briefcase.

"Make no mistake, this has the equivalent blast of One point five, ya-know what, just watch from a distance of at least 50 miles away."

"Is the explosion really that big" Alex said in disbelief as he looked at the Handheld device.

"Yes. Now the other gift. This was designed by your enemy to slaughter your people." Achmetha said, as Bubble drone 166 flew into view

"What does it do?"

I'll let you find out. Once again find a high population density area to release it in. . . Now onto your mechanical limbs."

Achmetha Explained how everything worked on his new arms and legs. Alex could run faster, farther and longer than Anyone else with his robotic limbs. After a few minutes of him trying to get the hang of how things worked. He had figured out the large blades that shot out of his forearms, and the two, black anodized s&w 500 pistols that deployed from his legs. With his robotic arms he could easily fire the 700 grain, or 1.2 ounce projectile with one hand.

"Now that you know your capability's and limits. We will get to your main objective."

"What would that be."

"Your main objective, is to kill Elliot Crawford along with all whom he cares for."

"Roger that." He said with a devilish smile on his face, before heading down the mountain, toward the city with the briefcase and 166 in tow.


	10. Chapter 10: The Mistake

_Chapter ten_

 _Success is not measured by what you accomplish, but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained to struggle against overwhelming odds._

* * *

"Your main objective, is to Kill Elliot Crawford along with all whom he cares for."

"Roger that." He said with a devilish smile on his face, before heading down the mountain, toward the city, with the briefcase and 166 in tow.

* * *

-==five hours later==-

-=Judy pov=-

5:30 P.M

"Well that was an eventful day if I've ever seen one." Judy chirped as she, Nick, and M-01 exited the front of the ZPD building.

"Yeah, but did you really need to ram that car." Nick commented, rubbing his hurting ribs.

With the Martha's help, Nick And Judy were able to bag four pickpockets, stop Two shop robbery's, and they halted a high speed chase that was going on for almost an hour in seconds.

"For the twentieth time Nick, It was an accident." Judy said waving her paws.

"Ma-am would you like that ride now?" M-01 asked, floating behind and above the duo. M-02 and M-03 were also nearby, just playing tag at six hundred miles an hour.

"I would looove to say yes, but we have to walk home." Judy replied, veering off to the right, in the direction of her apartment.

"We could give you two a ride home if you'd like." M-01 said, starting her scanner on Nick.

"Hey, stop probing me." Nick complained, trying to avoid the blue triangular scanning beam, to no avail.

Judy rolled her eyes and face palmed. "Nick it's only probing if the stick something into you."

"Relax Mr. Wilde, I'm doing a medical scan." M-01 replied as the blue beam shout off. Simultaneously, M-02 and M-03 Zipped by at 650 miles an hour, just a few feet above them.

"Ahhh!" Judy and Nick Both dropped to the ground to avoid the drones. "Martha, they can't be doing that!" Judy shouted while standing up and brushing her uniform off.

M-01 ordered the drones to stop their game and return to her. After they showed up and apologized, the two Martha's started scanning plants, cars, lights, you name it. All to send to Sam's database.

Nick, Judy and the drone were now a few hundred feet outside the ZPD building, getting ready to set off to their apartments. "Nick you've cracked ribs six, seven, and eight on your right side."

"NICK! You said it was fine!" Judy shrieked while staring him down with anger. Nick's ears flattened on hes head and he held out his paws defensively.

"I just didn't want you to worry, I'm fine, really." He protested.

"Really, Let me poke it then." Judy said with crossed arms.

"That would not be advised Ma-am. In addition you should not be exerting yourself with that concussion."

"OH, who didn't say anything now." Nick commented with his signature smile.

"Pff, as if there anywhere near in comparison."

"Will you two just shut up and go on a date already." M-02 barged in.

"Will you stop with that. Were just friends." Judy said turning 120 degrees to the left, facing M-02.

"Absolutely not. 1 and 3 might be too polite to say it. But we can smell you on each other, In HEAVY concentration." M-02 said, which caused both Nick and Judy's eyes to widen up and their ears to turn red.

"It must be from hugs or something." Nick protested.

"Yeah, just admit defeat. Both your heart rates have gone up along with body temperature. Your eyes widened momentarily and you BOTH blushed."

"I plead the 5th." Nick said. Judy knew when stuff like this happened, to let him do all the talking. So she simply stood next to him and tried to look as innocent as possible.

"Yeah you do that. We were designed as advanced interrogation units as well. So it's physically impossible to lie to us." M-01 stated.

"I bet Elliot could beat you guys." Judy pitched in.

"He's a lone exception. Back on topic, so when did you sleep together?" M-03 Questioned, intently looking at the two with her blue eye.

"Nick-"

"NO, Don't say anything, they can never prove it." Nick interrupted, covering Judy's mouth momentarily.

"We have overwhelming evidence. Just yield so we can take you guys home." M-01 chirped.

"Uggghhhh, Finneeeee. It was an accident, ok." Judy said with defeat.

"Sure it was. . . So one of you hop on me and the other on M-02, then we'll take you home."

"We can walk, thank you very much." Nick said.

"Yes but do you want to? Think about it, riding on a flying drone" She said in a high pitch. "Or walking." now in a bored tone.

" _Sigh._ I get Martha 1" Nick said.

"Uh-Uh. I get her. I'm the boss so don't even try, slick."

"Whatever." Nick replied, padding to M-02, who was hovering a few inches off the ground, witch left the wing about a foot up and the top of the body about a foot and a three quarters.

Nick eventually was situated on the rounded top of the fuselage, with his hind paws resting on the wings. He was also holding on to an air brake in front of him for balance.

Judy had done things a little differently. She was also on the fuselage, but due to her small size, she was laying prone on the top, with her Hind paws pointing toward the exhaust. Her head was just behind the drones eye and her paws were grabbing the sides of the fuselage.

Once both party's were situated, the drones lifted a few feet higher and headed down the sidewalk at about fifteen miles an hour

"Take the next right" Judy said.

"Rodger, and what about you Mr. Wilde." M-02 asked.

"Uhh, just follow Judy for now." He replied hesitantly.

"Rodger Fox-1" She confirmed.

"Really." He deadpanned.

"E-yup"

"Hey can you play music through your loudspeaker?" Judy questioned.

"Sure can. But that would be misdemeanor Miss Hopps."

"Not loud or anything, just so Nick and I can listen."

"What's with all the formality?" Nick asked M-02 as Judy continued to talk to M-01.

"We could technically call you something else but it's in our programming to be polite. I could Start calling you Pawpsicle if you'd like."

"Hey who told you that." Nick hissed as they waited at an intersection for the pedestrian light to change.

"Who told me what. I thought of A Popsicle and you having paws."

"Oh, nevermind." Nick commented, feeling foolish for letting that piece of information slip.

They sat in silence for a few seconds before M-01 started playing some music at a moderate sound level.

"Oh I like this song." Judy commented, While listening to the song start.

(Titanium, Boyce Avenue acoustic cover)

"That's not right, This is a song from our planet." M-02 said to Judy.

"Well it's here to." Judy chirped as she sang along to the melody.

"Yeah, it's just not the same instruments or mammal singing it." Nick added.

"Oh that's because E-. . . Nevermind." M-01 had told M-02 to shut up about who sang the song through their radio Nick could reply, they moved forward with a mild lurch.

After flying for a few more minutes and taking several turns, they reached their destination. Nick and Judy dismounted, said thanks, and walked into the apartment complex. The three Martha's regrouped and headed to the pods to recharge.

As they flew along, making sure not to break the sound barrier, an unknown radar signature showed up on the Martha's screen. The signature was fast approaching their position on a collision course.

"Change course from two-six-zero to two-nine-zero."

The Martha's changed course, but the radar signature changed with them.

"Orders?" M-02 asked.

"Deploy weaponry to code purple. Sam We have a radar contact that's changing course with us."

"I see it. Get here as fast as you can, I have a present waiting."

"Copy."

The drones sped up to their maximum speed, well over the speed of sound. To their dismay, the unknown radar contact sped up with them, almost keeping pace.

"Were almost there Ma-am, are you ready?" M-01 asked.

"Yes I've locked on. Target is identified as 166. firing, stand by."

* * *

-=Jacqueline Pov=-

"Uuhhhhhh, five more minutes."

"Sorry Jacqueline, there's hostile radar contacts fast approaching, just stay under cover" Sam replied.

"What? Are we going to be ok?" I asked with anxiety.

"We'll be fine, I've locked on to it and am about to fire." Sam replied as a humming noise, increasing in intensity was emanating from the sea container with the large dish on top. The dish was slowly rotating up from it's almost horizontal position.

I heard some sort of gunfire going off in the distance, I could also see some blue dots of light fly across the sky in different directions.

"What's happening?" I asked in a panic as I ducked under the roof where Elliot was still sleeping. Before I received my answer, a massive purple beam of light fired out of the dish for a few seconds, before shutting off and the dish returning to its vertical position.

A large chunk of something landed in the dirt next to me, which caused me to squeak in surprise. As I move closer to the smoldering piece of metal to inspect it, I recognized what it was. "Uhh, Sam, is that part of the bubble drone?. . . Sam?"

In an instant one of the Martha's popped into view, causing me to fall from how badly it startled me. The drone scanned me, then Elliot, before flying away.

"Sam are you there?"

"Yeah." She replied.

"What happened to the bubble drone?"

"I don't know. I lost control of it earlier today, and I still haven't found out how. It opened fire on the Maratha's, damaging one of them. So I shot it down with the beam laser."

"Beam laser, Elliot said it was a Communications ray." I said with angst about what the beam really was.

"Well he was lied to. I'll explain later. Right now you need to move out of the way so the drones can land."

"Uhh sure." I said, walking about ten feet away from the pod. The drones all flew over to it and landed. One was smoking badly and it had a hole in the wing. Before I could inspect it, the pneumatic drone trays retracted into the pod and the door close, leaving us without a roof.

"Should I be doing anything else right now?" I Asked, thinking there was some sort of procedure to do.

"Yes, you need to get a blanket or two for Elliot. His core body temperature has dropped point eight degrees, he's approaching hypothermia. You may need to help him regain temperature through direct heat transfer."

"Crap, Why didn't you tell me earlier? And where am I suppose to get a blanket?"

"Blankets are on the other side, I've lit the compartment in red."

After retrieving two, gray, heavy blankets, I laid them on Elliot.

"How do I do a direct heat transfer?" I asked, having never heard of this terminology.

"Really, you're a nurse, you should know this. Ya just strip almost naked and spoon, preferably laying directly on his abdomen."

Instant my face heated up. But I knew that Sam was right.

"Finnneeee." I groaned, taking off Elliot's shirt. "Will his wound be ok with the extra pressure on it?" I asked as I took off my shirt, before setting it next to Elliot's.

"His wound should be about one-hundred and sixty-eight days into recovery by now. So you're good." Sam replied to my astonishment.

"But it's only been nine hours!"

"The magic of science my dear, the magic of science."

After standing for a few seconds to process what Sam said, I got under the covers with Elliot and laid on his chest, stomach to stomach.

"Brrrrr. . . He's freezing." I replied, shivering from how cold Elliot was.

"Well his normal body temperature is three degrees lower than yours, and he's currently almost a whole degree lower than normal. So yes, he's cold." Sam replied.

After a few minutes of shivering, Elliot was starting to warm up. By this time I had almost fallen asleep several times, so I decided to just stay where I lay, and deal with his complaints in the morning. That is if he would even wake up by then.

" _I'll see you when you wake up spaceman."_ I thought as I rested my head in the crook of his neck, softly purring.

* * *

-= Alex white Pov=-

"Son of a bitch!" I yelled as I closed the HUD of the drone feed embedded in my eye.

"Not to worry Alex. You still have the bomb." Achmentha calmly replied in my head.

"But I didn't even destroy one of the drones. . . I failed." I stated, now in a mopey tone.

"Not to worry. The bomb can still take care of all of that."

"Yes sir." I said, before sitting down on the couch in the room I was in, rubbing my temples with my robotic arms.

"P-P-Please let us go." A arctic wolf pleaded. I had broken into their apartment a few hours ago and tied them up, putting one in a lazy-boy like chair, and the other on a bean-bag chair.

"Uhhh, Shut up. I don't want to have to use this." I said deploying one of the black blades from my right arm as I pointed it at him. The wolf responded with his eyes widening and ears splaying. "Well, actually I do, but you're innocent, so I won't." I retracted the black blade and could see some relief in his eyes.

"W-w-what do you want?" The other wolf asked from the bean bag chair.

"Well Ma-am, I don't want anything from you. I just need to kill a certain individual." I replied as I stood up and walked to the male wolf. I deployed my right arm blade, and sliced the zip ties on his wrists and ankles. I proceeded to do the same with the female wolf.

"Well it's been fun, but I'm very busy. . . too-duh-looo." I said while closing the door to their apartment. As I walked down the hall I could hear crying start from the room followed by the male wolf calling the police. _"Maybe I should have just killed them."_ I quickened my pace for the lobby of the building, several stories down.

After exiting the building and darting down a snow filled ally, I headed for the large skyscrapers in the distance. looking at them for a few minutes as I walked, I determined it would be a shame to let all this magnificent architecture go to waste. So I decided to detonate the device somewhere else. After about twenty minutes of strolling around the winter wonderland, I decided to check out The desert section that I saw from the mountain. I continued to walk through the darkness of the night, mostly watching my breath form condensation in the air. Instantly, I was dragged into a dark narrow ally and shoved up against the wall with a knife to my throat.

"Gimme the brief case and nobody gets hurt." The hooded figure demanded, to which I gave a smile.

"No." I said, grabbing his wrist and pulling it away from my neck, then deploying my left arm blade and holding it up to his chest as I pinned him against the adjacent wall.

"Whoa man, don't hurt me. I was jus-" His voice was cut short from my blade slicing his neck wide open. I watched in satisfaction as he grasped what was left of his windpipe and struggled to breath. He proceeded to slump on the ground with his back on the wall, pure panic and fear plastered on his face.

"You will no longer plague this planet with your antics." I whispered while bending down to his ear, before standing back up. I continued to watch as his white hoodie become drenched in red. After all life drained from the polar bear's eyes, I walked out of the ally and continued my way to The artificial desert.

* * *

-==Fifteen minutes later==-

I was now about halfway through the desert, and was admiring the large hotel palm tree. The desert section of the large city seemed to be catered more towards the night life. You couldn't walk a hundred feet without seeing a bar, night club, or casino lit up with neon and argon lights. Various animals of all shapes and sizes were milling about the streets, most looking intoxicated.

Due to the attire I was wearing, most animals were staring at me walking down the street, or maybe it was just because of what I looked like. My clothing consisted of a green Army service uniform. Achmentha told me I was a lieutenant In the army, I was supposedly in charge of all land invasion forces aboard the ship I was on. The jacket had all sorts of little rectangles with various stripes of color on on the left side of my chest, although I did not know what they meant. My robotic limbs were hidden fairly well by the uniform, so I don't think the staring was from that.

I continued to walk along and eventually read a sign that said " _Now entering: Palm District."_

"Oh Look, Palm trees." I said in a falsetto excited voice. "How original."

Continuing my stroll around the less bustling neighborhood, I eventually found myself tired. I decided that it would be best to not sleep where there could be a sand storm, so I pressed on to the city center, which was just a few hundred Yards away. _"Now entering: Acorn heights."_

After walking around to find a suitable sleeping location, I found a nice looking apartment building. Ignoring the receptionist and making my way to a random floor, which happened to be floor eight. I stepped outside the elevator.

"So who will I be bunking with tonight?. . .Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, Catch a tiger by the toe. If he hollers, let him go, Eeny, meeny, miny, moe." I had reached an apartment room close to the end of the brightly lit hall.

Knock Knock Knock "Telegram. . . _Wow, that was lame."_ A few seconds after knocking on the door it was opened.

"How many times d-" The Female cheetah was cut off my me grabbing he muzzle with my right hand, and pushing her in the room by pressing my blade on her stomach with my left hand. Pushing my way in with relative ease, I closed the door behind us with my foot. She ended up falling backwards as I entered.

"Now, I'm going to let your muzzle go, but if you scream, or try anything else, you die. Do you understand?" I calmly stated as I looked into the terrified eyes of the cheetah. She nodded slowly and I let her go. Almost immediately she was across the living room trying to make as much distance as possible.

The apartment was much nicer than I had thought it would be. The floor was an off white carpet, the kind you want to run your feet through. The walls were painted a shade of tan, a few lighter than Flat dark earth, I think it was called twig basket. Some other walls were painted a dark green color, which in total, looked very nice. The appliances that I could see were all very modern, A large flat screen TV in front of the couch, which was directly to the left of the door. It was an odd shape though, the screen was curved at about ten to fifteen degrees of arc. Directly in front was a hallway that lead somewhere I couldn't see. To the right was a kitchen area, with one of those electric stoves, embedded seamlessly with the black granite counter top that wrapped along two walls.

"Please, just take whatever you want and go." The Cheetah pleaded, with her paws out like she was bracing for impact.

"I'm not here to rob you." I calmly replied while slowly approaching her, now with both blades extended. "Now you're going to sit on that couch, or I'm going to re-paint the walls."

She did as I demanded, and once she was seated, I sat on a chair that I pulled from the dining area by the kitchen.

"W-what do you want?"She asked, still trying to make herself as small as possible.

"I Just need somewhere to sleep for the night, then you will never see me again."

"B-b-b-but why here?"

"I picked a random apartment, nothing special about this one. Now this can go two ways. I can tie you up, put a gag on you, and put you In your bed. . .Or You can simply try to ignore me, not calling the police, running, or doing anything else to call for help. And it will be much more comfortable for you."

"C-can I think about it?"

"Take all the time you need, I have thinking to do anyway." I said, retracting my arm blades. This seemed to calm her down slightly. But she was still in panic mode. After a few minutes of us sitting in silence, she spoke up.

"I'll take option one."

"Very well. In that case go about your business and I will be taking that couch."

"Well. . . actually I was about to leave, my boss said I have to take the night shift where I work."

"Can you prove it?"

"Ye-yes, he left a message on my answering machine over there."

"Show me."

After The cheetah played me the message, I allowed her to leave.

"Keep in mind, If you call the police, or if anyone other than you walks through that door, they will die." I said, gesturing to my arms.

"Y-yeah, got it." She hesitantly replied, before hastily walking to the elevator. I closed the door, locked it, and laid down on the couch for a long winters nap.

* * *

-==12 hours later |Elliot Pov| 5:08 A.M==-

"Uhhh _, that shit never gets any easier."_ I thought, referring to the R.S.K. I decide to just lay for a while without opening my eyes, to maybe get some lucid dream time. As I started to became more aware of my senses, I felt a very soft, very heavy thing on me. So I started to feel around to determine if it was just a fluffy blanket on me.

"Well I do appreciate you being tender, would you stop groping my butt."

"AHH!" I screamed in panic as I threw the object off me, at least three feet away due to the prosthetic's strength. I sat up and looked over at the figure, who was Jacqueline, busy rubbing her eyes with one paw while half slumped over and holding herself up with the other.

"OWW, what the hell was that for." She replied groggily.

"What were you laying on me for!? And why are we half naked!?" I replied with anger.

"BECAUSE I WAS SAVING YOUR LIFE!" She Screamed back.

I was taken aback by how quickly it escalated.

". . . Sorry." I replied in a mopey tone.

"You were nearing hypothermia, so I transferred body heat."

". . ."

Jacqueline did something I wasn't quite expecting. She stood up on all fours and padded over to me, before curling up in a small ball. Next to where my chest would be if I laid back down.

"Uhh. What are you doing?" I asked while looking at her.

"Sleeping." She mumbled.

I silently nodded before reaching to one of the blankets and covering her up. I then stood up, feeling a little sore but not much worse for wear. After grabbing an ear piece from the pod, and hobbling a few yards away, I noticed destroyed parts of the bubble drone strewn about.

"Sam what happened to 166?"

"It went rogue."

I face palmed. "It's to early for this. . . Just run me through the post op stretches." I said, looking toward the sun coming up, which was still under the horizon. After stretching for about twenty minutes and popping my newly repaired vertebrae, I decided to go on a jog. "Sam, how did the drone go rogue?" I asked while running at a moderate pace through the trees.

"I don't know sir. I lost control of it 20 hours ago. Then, 12 hours ago it attacked the Martha's, so I shot it down."

"With what exactly?" I Asked, wondering if Jacqueline somehow used the railgun.

"Well that's another thing I was going to get to. The U.N.S.E Director lied to you. The dish isn't a communications relay."

"Sam, are you saying what I think you're saying."

"It's a modified class four beam laser sir. The dish is just to disguise it."

By this point I had stopped running.

"Those bastards." I replied in irritation.

"That's not all sir. I believe they knew this world was inhabited, based on what weaponry they gave you."

"Yeah I kind of figured out that one. So what happened to my message."

"It was still sent to earth sir, via quantum entanglement storage drives."

"Bull. . .Shit." I said with denial.

"I can prove it." Sam said in defense.

"Later. I don't need another lecture on quantum mechanics."

"Really, I remember you loved learning about The Alcubierre drive engine" Sam said with a slight chuckle.

"Don't. . . Even. . . Start." I warned, resuming my jog.

I continued to do various exercise activity's for the next two hours. Push, ups chin ups, crunches, stretches, and most importantly, the ancient art of beating the shit out of a tree. I eventually became hungry enough to return to the pods for breakfast.

After staring at all the tasty bacon I couldn't eat for a few minutes, I pulled out some veggy burgers. I blew out a long breath of disappointment. " _sigh_. . . I guess this'll have to do." I said while inspecting the patty.

I pulled out a pan, fired up the electromagnetic induction stove, and began cooking my food. A few minutes of cooking the patty's later, I remembered Jacqueline probably can't eat them.

"Ehh, I can make something else when she says no."

I grabbed two plastic plates from the food section, put the patty's on them and walked to Jacqueline, who was just on the other side of the pod. By this point the sun was a few inches over the horizon, so I figured She would be up by that point. But nooo, I found her still curled up into a ball, laying on the flattened grass.

"Jacqueline. . . Jacqueline wake up."

"Five more minutes, MOM." She replied with flattened ears.

"Fine, but your breakfast will be cold by then." This caused her ear's and head to pop up.

"What'd ya make?"

"Carbohydrates, some salts, maybe even a little bit of-"

"In English please."

"Veggy burger's." I said with mild distaste.

"That sounds nasty." Jacqueline replied, while sitting up, both arms behind her back to prop her up.

"They're not all that bad. I just hadn't thought of what your diet consists of before hand."

"Lemme see." Paw extended for a plate. "Uhh, Is this even food?"

"Just try it. It's like a mixture of sunflower seeds and french fries." I said while taking a bite out of mine.

She took a small bite of the burger, chewing slowly. "Well it's not awful." She started to say.

"You want something else?" I said with a chuckle.

"Yeah."

"Be back in a flash. . . or five." I said, disappearing to the other side of the pod. I looked around the fridge for a minute and settled on some slices of ham; hoping that Jacqueline wouldn't question it too much. I then opened the vacuum sealed plastic wrap and laid a few strips on the hot frying pan. Instantly the meat started to sizzle, acausing my mouth to water.

Once I had cooked a few slices of the mouth watering ham; I brought it to Jacqueline. "Well, I do need to warn you of something before hand."

"And what might that be?" She inquired with a smile.

"Well first off. You still don't have a shirt on."

"Look at that." Jacqueline picked up her blue shirt and slid it over her head. "Why don't you have one."

"I went for a run, didn't want to get it sweaty."

"huh?" She gave me a puzzled look.

"Did you forget. I cool down via pores on my skin emitting water, ammonia, salt, and a few other things."

"Oh yeah, that's nasty. What's the other thing you need to warn me of."

"I'll tell you, after you try this."

"That sounds awfully suspicious, but it does smell delightful. . . Ok, I'll try it."

I handed Her the gray plastic plate, and after a few seconds of eyeing the Ham, Jacqueline took a small bite. Almost instantly she took a much large one.

"Dis ish relly gooh." Pointing to the half devoured meat.

"Didn't you learn not to chew with your mouth full." I replied as I took a bite of one of the four veggie burgers on my plate; due to me taking Jacqueline's.

"Sorry, it's just I've never had anything this good before."

"heh heh, Well let me tell you. That's not very high quality stuff."

"What is it, and where can I get more!?" She asked ecstatically.

"Well you can get more from me. But I'm not sure you really want to know what it is." I had sat down, leaning against the pod. By the time I was done with my first, five inch patty, Jacqueline had finished all her food.

"That Sounds _hic_ Ominous _hic._ Man, now I got _hic-_ ups."

"Well that's what you get for inhaling your food. Besides, I think it's adorable." I replied, taking another bite. A few seconds later, I noticed Jacqueline's ears had turned slightly red and she was trying to hide a smile. "Just pinch your nose and hold your breath for fifteen seconds, you'll be good as new."

After a few seconds of her just sitting silently, she did as I recommended. ". . . . . Ok so how do I know if it worked?"

"Really." I replied wryly.

"Duh." She said while face palming for a few seconds. "So why wouldn't I want to know what I just ate?"

"Ehhhh, You just don't." I said while standing back up because I was facing directly into the sun.

"Come on, tell." Jacqueline had batted my leg with her tail.

"Okay. . . Now don't get weird on me. You just ate Ham, or as you would know it. Pig muscle." By the end of my sentence, Jacqueline's face was one of anger and horror. I could see one of her ear's flickering every few seconds. "Now let me explain. So on my planet it's like if you were going to eat fish, right. So Ya-know. . . Shit." I said, dropping the plate and sprinting away from the enraged feline.

In total I think I made it about fifteen feet before I was tackled. Jacqueline flipped me around and pressed my shoulders to the grass as she stared at me from the mount position, with an expression I couldn't identify.

"L-look I haven't ea-" My voice was silenced as she pinched my larynx. Not very hard, just enough to deform my vocal chords to prevent speech.

Jacqueline was panting lightly as she continued to look into my eyes."You are going to answer all my questions truthfully." She said, running a claw over my throat. In reality I could easily have put her out of the fight by jabbing her neck with my prosthetic arm, most likely crushing her wind pipe. But, I didn't want a repeat of what happened with Nick and Judy.

"Yeah sure." I said with Perfect faux fear. I was slightly concerned, but not as much as I made it out to be.

"You're telling me I just ate part of a formerly living Pig!" She said, continuing to run her claw along my throat. Her face was about eight inches away from mine.

"Yes, but if you wou-" My voice was one again cut off.

"No one said you could comment. Now, you said something about it being like me eating a fish, explain."

"Well where I'm from all animals walk on all fours and are feral. So we eat them for food. But w-"

"What kinds of Mammals. Besides pig, apparently."

"Almost entirely animals from the prey family, although some people eat predatory animals."

"What about you, what have you eaten?" He claw was now dragging along my upper chest.

"Uhhh. Cow, Chicken, Salmon, Cod, Pheasant, rabbit, Turkey, goat, pig, and maybe some others I can't remember."

"Well. . . isn't that interesting. How about plants?"

"Yeah, I've had lett-" Once again, she pinched my throat.

"Who asked for that."

"Sorry." I replied quickly. I kind of thought it was funny how Jacqueline probably thought she had me by the balls.

"Oh your gonna be sorry." She said with malice, before leaning in closer. I Closed my eyes just in case, as I had learned that when being tortured by your face, to close your eyes because they like to focus on them if they're open. Her claw continued to trail around my neck and clavicle.

I waited patiently for around a minute, expecting something else to happen, But nothing ever came. I started to think about opening my eyes, but I could feel her warm breath on my face. Then I felt something similar to sandpaper rubbing on my cheek. It wasn't too bad at that point, so I figured, just let it happen and maybe that would be all that would happen.

The sandpaper switched to my other cheek, then my neck. I still refused to open my eyes. "What are you doi-" My voice was cut off again. But this time was different. Was she BITING my neck. Now I was rather concerned; There was no way I could pry her off before she ripped open my throat.

" _Well shit. . . . Nooo, it couldn't be the giant sand spiders, or maybe a black hole. I'm about to die from a snow leopard of all things."_ To my relief, she let go of my neck, and continued with the sand paper. This time I could feel string, or maybe that weed, I think it's called a foxtail, brushing up against the area around the sandpaper. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks.

" _She's Frickin licking me!"_ After my realization, I decided to go for another escape attempt. So I opened my eyes, trapped her left arm and did a simple, Jujitsu bump and roll reversal. This caught her completely off guard as planned. After she was on her back, I stood up and made another run for it. Unfortunately her claws caught my left side, cutting three gashes on my rib-cage. Blood almost instantly stated oozing out, but I ignored it while I ran. this time making it into the forest.

Jacqueline was close behind me for about a hundred yards, but after a while she lost steam, and I gained a fair amount of distance. After running for about ten minutes, I climbed a large tree and started looking through my pants for anything to bandage my wound. In the distance I could hear Jacqueline yelling.

"It's only a matter of time spaceman, I can smell you for miles!"

"Shit." I whispered, dropping out of the trees, my escape and evasion training was about to be utilized; The chase had only just begun.


	11. Chapter 11: Discovery

_Chapter Eleven: The Discovery_

 _In all secrets there is a kind of guilt, however beautiful or joyful they may be, or for what good end they may be set to serve. Secrecy means evasion, and evasion means a problem to the moral mind._

* * *

" _Whew_. I haven't had anything like this happen in a while." I said as I vaulted over a fallen tree. I had been running in the direction of a mountain for the past hour without stopping. Not that it was a problem, It's just I wasn't expecting Jacqueline to be trying to eat me, or whatever the meaning of her licking me was for. Perhaps she was sampling the food; just the thought of that made me run harder than before. My side had slowed in the bleeding but still had small amounts of blood dripping out. Because of this, I didn't want to chance stopping for a break, just in case Jacqueline was close behind me.

"Shit, Where did that come from." I cursed, looking at the fifty foot vertical ledge in the middle of nowhere. "Whatever." I said, starting my climb up the rock face. I knew I would loose valuable distance in front of Jacqueline, as Snow leopards can climb like nobody's business. Then again, She Might not know how to climb like that. About fifteen minuets into the climb I was almost at the top.

"Well Looks like I've caught up Spaceman!" Jacqueline yelled from the bottom of the Wall. I almost lost my grip from her outburst, but when I looked down, I could see She was panting heavily.

"Oh look at the time, I have to go. Toodles!" I Yelled as I consciously turned off the strength inhibitor on my prosthetic limb and launched myself the ten or so feet to the top.

"Man, That's Dirty!" Jacqueline complained.

"Oh and this isn't!" I yelled back, Lifting my left arm to show Her the three large gashes. Once she saw them, I could see a look of concern wash along her face. Before she could reply however, I two finger saluted and ran west, toward the looming mountain that was further into the forest.

* * *

-==Three hours later==-

I was about lunch time, and I was at the base of the mountain; Approximately thirty miles North west west of my camp. I had lost Communication range with Sam about a mile out, so I was on my own. By this point I was winded, but continued the now very steep climb up the mountain face and quickly found myself on all fours due to how steep the hill was. I hadn't heard anything behind me that would indicate Jacqueline's presence. But I suppose that's why they're called the Ghost cats.

"Damn! this elevations killing me. Well that, and the fact I'm freezing, and it looks like it's about to rain. . . Just a little further." I Whispered as I climbed the almost vertical hill.

"Well I have to say with all those smarts I'd think you would know, We snow leopards lived at fourteen-thousand feet!"

"Fuck." I replied, looking at the Feline gaining on me. I wasn't about to be beaten by a cat, so I pushed myself further past the limit. I noticed a tree about thirty feet away that would be an excellent deterrent. I flipped off my Regulator, and once I reached the five inch in diameter pine tree, I punched out the base and sent the tree rolling toward Jacqueline. I didn't bother looking to see if the damage was done.

"Nice try! But Did you know We can jump upwards of 50 feet!" I heard Come from down the mountain.

"Just. . .Let. . . me. . . . GO!" I yelled in between my huffing.

"NEEEVVVERRRR!" She Yelled back. For some reason I could here Exuberance in her voice. Almost as if this was just a game to her.

Although I would soon be done for, I had a few more ideas before I would capitulate. The hill we were climbing was covered in grass, which aided in climbing. But The pathway was shrinking in width. On my left was a drop off of about one to two-hundred feet, and to my right was a slick rock face, which I would have no way of climbing. That is if my arm didn't have nano-grip installed. The only problem was that it takes time to deploy, and I couldn't use the arm while it was deploying; This was a major problem because I was using that arm for at least half my climbing strength.

We continued to climb, and eventually the path leveled out. . . Right into a dead end. "Crap, might as well start it." I said to myself as I stood in front of the vertical wall blocking my path. I contentiously told the arm to start up the Nano-grip. _"Insufficient power levels."_ Was replied directly into my head.

" _Power capacity?"_ I asked in my head, staring at my feet while huffing and puffing. " _Two percent."_ Was replied. My arm could say simply things like it's status, but not much more than that. I also forebode Sam to talk to me through it because I didn't want an all knowing voice in my head. After a few seconds of bending over while staring at my feet, I turned ninety degrees to the left and looked at the breathtaking view.

In front of me was an unobstructed view for hundreds of miles. I could see the ocean and the vast amounts of forest in-land of it. To the left, I could see Zootopia, which was towering over its surrounding land, although I could tell I was much higher than the tallest skyscraper by a long-shot. To the right was the Metropolis of Bunnyburrow. I could see the vast amounts of infrastructure that made up the main town, and the Miles of farmland surrounding it. Finally, I could see the tiny line that was the train tracks connecting the two city's; Sometimes disappearing below hills that obstructed it. In total it was a grand sight, one that was interrupted by Jacqueline reaching me.

"Well, looks like you've run out of road." She said with a Sinister smile. Jacqueline was panting heavily, but seemed not much worse for wear. She was about ten feet away from me.

"Just leave me alone." I replied, turning to face her.

"No can do Spaceman." She replied while slowly approaching me.

"Then this is where it ends, for one one of us." I said, raising my arms to fight. I had my left foot and arm forward due to the left arm being resistant to knife attacks, or in this case, claws. I held fast for a few seconds before my arm started twitching, then dropped limp at my side. Realizing it ran out of power, I knew that my chances of avoiding evisceration were slim.

"What happened to your arm, did it give up?" Jacqueline Mocked while still approaching. I had started to back up while I thought of a plan, but my mind pulled a total blank.

"I will not be torn to shreds." I said as I moved closer to the edge, looking over the edge at the tree canopy below

"You won't jump, I can see it in your eyes."

"Try me." I replied, backing off the edge. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see my ending come. As I fell, I felt weightless. It was a calming sensation, one that was interrupted by my arm being grabbed. I looked up to see non other Than Jacqueline holding it.

"I, WILL NOT Become food." I said as I reached for the emergency release on my arm.

"NO!" She screamed back. I looked up and saw Jacqueline holding onto me with both paws, while fear was in her eyes, along with tears that started pelting my face.

"And why not. I refuse to be killed in a slow and painful way." I had realized it really was just a game to her, but I wanted to see what she would say, and If her grip faltered, oh well. I continued to reach for the release on my arm.

"N-No Please don't." She begged.

"Why not? You were just threatening to torture me a few hours ago."

"No, I was-AHH!" She yelped as my arm started to slip out of her grasp. I could see her claws trying to dig in unsuccessfully. "P-please, I. . can't. . .pull you up." She said in-between sobs.

I thought about it for a few seconds, and decided I had gotten enough payback. Now was the challenge of climbing back up. Normally it wouldn't be a problem to pull myself up, even with one arm. But I was exhausted. I reached up to the ledge to hoist myself up, but was unable.

"I don't have enough energy left. . . I'm sorry." I bleakly stated while looking at the ground several hundred feet below me.

"NO! Just try again!"

I did as she asked, but once again was unable, I also tried finding foot holds but my boots prevented me from such things.

"No luck."

"How about your hind paws. Did you try that."

"Yeah, can't get any traction."

"I don't want to lose you." She cried out in distress.

"I'm not sure you have another option." I mumbled. To me death was something I had excepted long ago; "The fear of death follows the fear of life. A man who has live fully is prepared to die at any moment." That was one of the many quotes I live by.

"NO! I'll think of something." She replied, I could feel continues barrage of tears hitting my face as I looked at Jacqueline.

"Then again there's also the saying. Failure is at some point inevitable, but giving up is unforgivable. I won't give up for that one reason." I said, bending my leg so I could unzip the sides of my boots. Once I had the first one undone, it fell into the abyss. I Followed on with the other shoe, ignoring Jacqueline's grip slipping again. I then threw my hand up to the ledge for one last try.

"One, Two, Threee!" This time my toes found a small bit of rock to grip on and Jacqueline was able to hoist me atop the few meter wide grass ledge. Once I was atop the cliff, I laid on my back, my legs still hanging off the edge from my knees down. My eyes were closed in relief that I didn't need to die, and that it wasn't going to be from a raging feline. However, my peace was short lived. Jacqueline grabbed me by the arm-pits and started dragging me away from the ledge.

"Sssstoooop." I whined. After a few seconds I was let go. Then Immediately laid upon.

"Don't you ever do something like that again." Jacqueline whimpered out as she hugged me tightly.

"Could you not hug me so tight."

"No, you might get away again." She whispered while burying her head into my right shoulder. I chuckled slightly before returning the hug with my one able arm. After a few minutes of Jacqueline whimpering into my shoulder, she lifter her head and sat on my stomach. "Why would you jump?" She asked.

* * *

-=3rd Pov=-

"..."

"Elliot?"

"..."

Jacqueline looked at Elliot and poked him "Elliot, quite faking."

"..."

She removed herself from Elliot's stomach and instantly noticed his side was steadily pouring out blood, there was a noticeable puddle masked by the grass next to his wound.

"Oh no." She muttered, instantly reaching to his neck to check for a pulse. "no no nonononono." Jacqueline almost immediately started CPR.

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

I found myself on a grassy knoll above Bunnyburrow, about fifteen miles out of town. The clouds had disappeared and the sun was shining magnificently over the land. There was also a slight breeze that caused the tall grass to waver ever so slightly.

"Peaceful isn't it."

"Not you again." I whined, looking over to see myself in full combat gear this time.

"What, not happy to see your old pal." He replied in a hurt tone.

"Please. I don't even know your name." I said, resuming my gaze to Bunnyburrow.

"Well how about we remedy that. My Name is Esmond."

I let out a small chuckle. "Favored protector huh. And I suppose you have a brother named Berodach-Baladan. Or maybe Achmentha, the famed Brother of death." I Mocked while gesturing my hands in a banner.

"Actually, I do have a brother Named Achmentha." He replied calmly.

Instantly my face went pale from understanding of what our little visions were about. I slowly turned toward him with rage on my eyes.

"You better not say that I'm a pawn in some sort of dispute between him and you."

Esmond simply gave a sheepish smile and shrugged his shoulders.

"You. . .Piece. . . Of. . .SHIT." I Spit out through clenched teeth.

"Well to be fair, the last dispute we had cause your world war one."

"You're really not helping your case right now!"

"How about this. You don't say anything to anyone, and I wont erase your memory. I'll even heal your lacerations."

"In, _Snifff_. . . And out. _. .Phfffff. . Snifff. . .Phfffff. . ._ Fine. But first, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Well Achmentha was the instigator of all this."

"I don't suppose I cant meet him, then proceed to beat the shit out of him."

"Hmmm, I'll see if he want's to meet you. . . Yeah he'll be here after I finish my revealing to you."

"Which is?" I Asked, now genuinely wanting to know everything I could, so I could put a stop to both of their antics.

"Observe this lovely town. Population, ninety-eight million."

" . . . He's got a bomb, doesn't he." I said with slumped shoulders.

"Very perceptive. Well that was all I was going to tell you. Sooo, Brother dearest, show yourself." After Esmond finished his sentence, a figure phased in front of me.

"So this is your champion. Well I must say he's very knowledgeable, but I think mine will still be victorious."

"Fffffuuuuuuuuuck meeeee. Why do you have to use people as pawns in a game."

"Because it's fun." Achmentha replied.

"Let me guess. You look like your C _hampion_ too." I dryly replied. I couldn't see what he looked like due to an astral themed cloak covering his face."

"He's brighter than you let on. This will really be a fight to settle them all."

"Yes it will. Why do you think I picked him? Now, we have our planning to discuses. So any questions? Esmond asked.

"Yes Just one."

"What is it."

"On a scale of one to ten. How mentally fucked are you two?"

"HA, picked a good one didn't you." Achmentha replied, elbowing his brother, before phasing into thin air.

"I'm never going to hear the end of that one. Thanks."

"No problem. Now can I get back to the land of the living?"

"Yeah, but just for that comment, you don't get your wound healed."

"Psshhh. Remember thirty-three sixteen. I got this."

My vision faded to black for a few seconds, before opening to see Jacqueline's face on mine. I could feel air being forcefully blown into my lungs, so I turned my head to the left and started coughing. I continued to cough for a good half minute. "Jeez Jacqueline, I wasn't dead or anything."

She simply let out a squeak of delight, before grabbing my cheeks and planting a kiss on my lips. She then lifted my abdomen up a few inches and hugged me tightly. "Why do you have to be so accident prone?"

"Comes with the species." I completely dismissed her kiss, just thinking I was from her excitement.

"You were dead Elliot. For five minutes at least."

"Sorry But you won't be getting rid of me that easily." I started to shiver from the cold "I think we need to go or I might get hypothermia again."

"NO, right now you need to stay laying down or you could start bleeding again."

" _Sigh . . ._ I'm too tired to argue. So lets just go to the corner, Ok?"

"Ok, You just don't move." Jacqueline stood up and started to drag me by my arms. I was helping a little by pushing with my feet.

By the time we were in the corner of the hillside, I was shivering continuously. "H-hey, don't suppose I can borrow your shirt?"

"You already have it tied to your wounds. Are you saying you cant see anything?"

"Well not really, I can see sh-shapes. But not much else. I have Amaurosis fugax from time to time. So not to worry."

"What?"

"T-temporary blindness in one or both eyes. . . I think I Might die up here." I said, now shivering profusely.

"NO, don't even start with that. I'll be back with firewood. For now just, uhh. . .take my pants for a blanket."

"You got it b-b-boss. . . I, Elliot Felix Craw-Crawford, do solemnly sw-swear, that I will faith-fully execute the Office of Admiral in the f-fed-federation, and will to the best of my ability, p-pr-preserve, protect and defend the Cons-Constitution of the Federation. I, Elliot Felix Crawford Do Solemnly swear t-t-t-to uphold the law, against all threats, foreign and domestic. So help me God." I repeated over and over as to not slip into unconsciousness.

* * *

-=Jacqueline Pov=-

I had been fifteen minutes since I left for firewood, and was now returning with a small pine tree. I had left hearing Elliot mumble some sort of oath, which I presume was to occupy his mind. Once I made it to the top of the hill, I didn't hear him talking anymore.

"Elliot?" I asked walking up to him.

"Sorry fluff. I'm done." He replied weakly.

"NO You're not dying on me." I ordered as I squatted in front of him. Immediately I noticed he wasn't shivering, Which meant the last stages of Hypothermia.

"I'm. . Just going to take a nap. Let me know when the smores are ready.

"Shit." I said, feeling Elliot. He was colder than last night and I knew without him, I wouldn't be able to start a fire. I stood back up and positioned the tree at a forty-five degree angle in front of Us, hopefully to keep some of the heat in. Then I rolled him onto his side in a fetal position, back facing away from the wall. I was perfectly warm at the time due to my winter coat growing in, so I curled around him the best I could. I wasn't sure if Elliot would make it to the end of the day, let alone the night. But I had to try.

After what seemed like forever, he started to shiver again. "that's it, you can pull though. . . you need to pull through."

". . . M-m-more trees, artificial w-w-wall." He mumbled.

"If I leave, you'll freeze."

"Stay, and I die. Go."

"Just don't close your eyes." I said, jumping over the tree. I Immediately ran to the nearest tree and started to break it down. After managing to uproot the tree, I pulled it back to Elliot. "You still awake?"

"Not for looon. Stopped sivering again." I heard him reply at an almost whisper.

"Ok I'm coming over again." Once I worked my aw over the two trees I was shocked to find Elliot's arm a few feet away. "Oh my God. What happened."

"Don say Lords name in vein. Fake arm, heat absorbed." Elliot replied. I was rather surprised by how coherently he was talking.

"Elliot I cant keep getting trees, you'll freeze." I said. Huddling around him. Elliot was laying on his back, sprawled out. So I laid on top of his chest to hopefully keep him warm.

"I really didn't want to do this." he said, reaching for his heart. " . . . mooooove." He whined while pushing his arm past my chest. I Lifted myself slightly to let Elliot do whatever he was going to do, and in the process. One of his fingers caught my Bra. I didn't think he even knew it happened, so I let it slide. Once I removed his numb fingers from my Bra, he pressed on his chest.

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

"Owww. I Always hated this thing." I said, before wrapping my one good arm around Jacqueline's neck, pulling her in for a hug. "I owe you my life. Thank you." I whispered, Shivering for a few seconds, before feeling warm. I then let go of my hold on Jacqueline, but she stayed holding onto me.

"Jacqueline, we don't have long before my blood warmer wears off. So I need to start a fire."

"Your what?" She asked lifting a few inches away from my face.

"It's like a hand warmer, but for my blood. Now lets get going. Grab the arm, would you."

"Elliot, your chest is glowing!"

"Blood warmer, now hand please."

Jacqueline did as asked, and once she handed it to me I sat up and started to pry open the service pannel. After a few minutes of trying, I had the small door on the arm open, reveling circuitry. I started on disabling the power reserve blocker on the arm, and once I had it off. I Turned on the radio beacon to the highest I could. The only reason The arm had a beacon was in case I misplaced it; Therefor it was not very strong, only about a mile range. The entire time I was tinkering, Jacqueline was hugging me from my back, with her Hind paws reaching about my calfs.

"What are you doing, don't we need to start a fire?"

"I've turned on a locator beacon just in case Sam sent out the Martha's to look for us. The only problem is it's range is very limited. As far as the fire goes. I don't have the necessary tools to start one."

"But what happens when your heat pack runs out?"

"Well that's what I have you for, my speckled blanket." This earned a Jacqueline's claws to extract slightly, just enough for me to feel them along my chest. "Ok ok, I get it."

"No you don't, I almost lost you thrice In the past day. I'm never letting go of you." She replied, resting her head on my right shoulder.

Her comment had taken me by surprise, due to not having anyone care this much for me in years. I though about it for a few seconds before getting butterflies in my stomach. _"No, she's a cat for goodness sake. I can't like her."_

I continued to sit in wonderment about What Jacqueline said. She seemed content Just hugging me, and I didn't mind having a very soft and warm object on my back. So we continued to sit still; That is, until the heat pack in my chest wore out. "Hey Jacqueline, I don't suppose I can have you move to the other side?"

"I thought you were warm from the heater?" She asked, lifting her head off my shoulder.

"It just wore out."

"Ok well before you start to shiver again, have any ideas for warmth?" She asked, scooting away.

"Noo come back, you're too warm." I Said trying to pull Jacqueline over to me.

"Jeez, and you said it was best to keep it professional." She said as I pulled her on top of me while I laid on my back.

"Says the one in underwear and a bra."

"We both know why that is. . . Ugh its so weird to see you without an arm." She was looking at my arm-less socket from about three inches away from my face. I was in deep thought while she continued to talk, so I didn't hear a thing she said.

"ELLIOT."

"Hmm, sorry, I was just thinking if I should tell you something."

"And what would that be." She said with a mischievous smile.

"Ehh, you don't need to know. HaHaHaHaHaHa. S-Stop!" She had started to tickle by bare feet with her tail; I was trying my best to squirm out of the way, but it didn't work.

"Not until you tell me." She jested.

"No-HAHA S-Stop." I was completely at her mercy, my right arm was easily trapped, and Jacqueline had me in a Jujitsu grape vine, Which every time I escaped by straightening my legs out, she just recaptured them. She was expertly using her tail to brush against the bottoms of my feet, causing the most ticklish thing I've ever experienced

"Tell me." Jacqueline said moving withing an inch of my face.

"We Both know HAHA I'll never break."

Jacqueline stopped tickling with a reluctant sigh, but continued to lay on my chest and hold me in the grape vine. She then leaned closer to my face and pressed the top of her head on my neck.

"You're evil, ya know that. Now would you stop trying to hold me down, I'm not going anywhere."

"Damn straight you're not going anywhere. Now make me feel appreciated, or I might start to tickle you again."

". . . . HAHAHA-Stop I'm just thinking."

"Well think faster."

"I'll have you know. I'm not just going to spit out something I didn't mean. . . I think you're an odd ball, but I tend to like odd balls, they always have something interesting about them."

"Well that's a start, I think."

"Yeah I'm not any good at personal stuff."

"Why not?"

"I've sorta told you this already, I was raised as a logical killing machine. Not a feelings person."

"Well you manage to make me feel special somehow, so you're doing something right."

"Heh, I do owe you my life. So I'll be there wherever you need me, no matter the reason."

"You don't owe me anything."

"Good luck winning that argument. I've made it my mission in life to never have a debt go unpaid."

". . . In that case. I want to go out with you."

" _Sigh. . ._ Ooookaaayyyy." I groaned.

"Is spending time with me really that bad?" Jacqueline asked, raising her head to look at me. I could see mild hurt in her eyes, which made me regretful.

"NO, I just meant that you would, and I, We would just be-" I was interrupted mid sentence by Jacqueline pecking my lips. Once again I found butterflies, a whole jar of them. " _NO stupid brain, stop it!"_

"I forgive you. Ya-know, you're adorable when you studded like that." Jacqueline said with a smirk.

"I just. . . I'm no good at this. I could tell you how to fight any battle without a doubt in my mind. I could build a nuclear bomb in five hours. But I can't handle emotions of love and peace. I Just break down."

"That's what I like about you. Your so innocent and caring."

"Thanks." I said while blushing profusely.

"Well isn't this quite the sight!" I heard come from my feet. I peaked around Jacqueline's face to see one of the Martha's.

"Finally. Sam, what took you so long?"

"What took me so long. You've managed to climb an eight thousand foot mountain and run thirty miles in five hours. WITHOUT Telling me."

"Yeah save it. Just get me some Clothes."

"You got hypothermia again, didn't you."

"Stage four I might add." I quipped back.

"Sometimes I wonder about you. At least you had Jacqueline, who seems to be naked."

"No I'm not! I just gave my cloths to Elliot to bandage his wound and provide warmth."

"Well let me help with that." The Martha pushed one of the trees away from our position and directed its jet exhaust toward one of the trees, lighting it on fire. "You two have some explaining to do. One second you're all jolly, then you're running into the trees with Jacqueline in hot pursuit."

Before I said anything, I shuffled over to the burning tree and put out my hands for warmth.

"Well I kinda gave Jacqueline Ham. Then she tried to interrogate me, I ran and her claws caught my side. Hence the three large gashes." Instantly, the Martha's eye turned red and it's Tesla coils deployed. "Whoa whoa whoa, Stand down!" The drone did as I ordered and retracted it's weapons, but the eye remained red. "It was just an accident ok. After I ran for a while I made it up here, my arm died and I got hypothermia. Jacqueline saved me." I looked over and saw her looking at her feet with a small blush present.

"Elliot, Don't you dare tell me you used the emergency power."

"Oops." I replied sarcastically.

"We both know how long to calibrate to your liking." The drone started to scan my entire body for anything I could find.

"ELLIOT! You used the blood warmer!" Sam yelled.

"Yeah I would've died."

"You really made a mistake this time."

"Yeah Sam, I've had quite enough flack, so can it."

"Yes sir. The cloths are en-route, I also fitted the Martha with a net to carry you two back." The drone showed up seconds later and lowered for the net to hit the ground. I took out a bandage, bio-foam, shirt and Multicam parka. I then untied Jacqueline's blood stained blue shirt and filled the gashes with the off white foam. Once the foam was on, I wrapped the compression bandage around my mid chest, covering the wounds. I looked over briefly and saw Jacqueline watching intently. "interested?"

"Yeah, what was that foam?" She asked pointing to the foot long black cylinder, which was tapered to a point at one end, and had what looked like a grenade safety lever that acted as the injection button on the other end. (Halo Bio-foam)

"It's a foam that contains Anesthetic, Stem cells, and some other stuff. It helps recovery rates." Jacqueline nodded in understanding as I continued to wrap the bandage around my side. Once I clipped the bandage in place, I put on the shirt and parka. "You go first, I'll be there shortly after." I said while clipping two of the net's hooks to the other Martha, creating a very saggy hammock.

"NO you're injured, you go first." She replied.

"Jacqueline, I know you're afraid of heights but it's perfectly safe, trust me." I said, putting my hand on her shoulder.

"MMMM, Ok." She said apprehensively.

Once I had Jacqueline correctly situated, the drones lifted her off the ground and made their way to the camp. After Jacqueline was about two-hundred meters away, I walked over to where we were huddled, threw the remaining pine tree off the ledge, and inspected the very tall, smooth rock wall that was just to the right of the rock that blocked my escape. After feeling around for a few minutes I found what I was looking for, a small door opened to revel an equalizer and a microphone. "Input pass-code." Was said out of the small door.

"Only in the vacuum, do you see the true colors of the universe." I replied.

"Welcome, Commander Abrams." Was said by the computer in a similar voice to Sam. A loud hissing noise was made before the wall depressed a small amount and opened to a dark hallway. After picking up my innate arm, I walked in and the door shut behind me with another hiss. I walked down the corridor, ending up in an open area, but it was pitch black. "Computer, Lights." The lights were flicked on with a loud click, reveling an empty hanger.

"Anything else Commander Abrams."

"I go by Admiral Crawford now."

"Yes sir."

"How long has it been since the last time I was in here?"

"Fourteen years- nine months and three days."

The entire facility was themed black with silver trim. The floor having a black polished look, which slightly reflected things. I hummed as I walked through the structure, eventually making my way to the control section, laden with carbon fiber, and more silver trim. The main seat contained a bleached white skeleton, which I simply toppled out of the chair. Once I sat down and stopped reminiscing on the past, I spoke up.

"Computer, Start the Pegasus device."


	12. Chapter 12: The Pegasus Device

_Chapter Twelve: The Pegasus device_

 _Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, failing to achieve anything useful._

* * *

"Computer, Start the Pegasus device."

"Pegasus device Charging." Came from the speaker embedded into my seat. I watched as the glass in front of me displayed a large, orange charging bar across it. Once the bar reached it's maximum capacity, I heard a humming come from down the hall. "Pegasus Device activated." Instantly afterward, I flipped a few switches in my seat and an orange holographic display illuminated in front of me and on the glass screen, showing me statuses of everything available.

"Enable thrusters."

"Thrusters Online." Upon checking the rest of the systems on the holographic display about eighty degrees to my right, I took hold of the yoke on right hand and prepared for launch. "Shit almost forgot. Enable wireless charging."

"Wireless charging enabled."

"Whew, just in the nick of time." I fiddled around with my arm for a few minutes, turning the radio beacon off and enabling reserve power mode. After finishing those tasks, I closed the maintenance hatch and reattached the arm. It would be a few minutes before turning on again, so I decided to wander around the facility. "Disable thrusters." I commanded. The computer responded and the thrusters were shut off.

I stood up out of my seat and started strolling around the ship, inspecting various mechanical items. As I wandered, I continued to find more skeletons. About fifteen minutes in, my arm came to life and to my immense relief, the calibration was still saved, which meant I wouldn't have to spend weeks fine tuning the arm. I began testing things on the arm while making my way back to the control station and by the time I made it back, I had tested tactile sensors, strength regulator and the display on the forearm.

I sat down in the black chair and strapped myself into the five point harness. "Enable thrusters."

"Thrusters Online."

Once I heard this, I throttled up and pressed the afterburner button on the throttle lever in my left hand. After a few seconds, the ship broke free of the mountain and was propelled forward. I then lowered my speed to a hover and pulled a horizontal 180 to see what damage I had done to the mountain. Upon seeing the destruction caused, I was a bit nervous how Jacqueline would react. The entire mountain top was collapsed in a landslide. "oops. Well now to remove all the debris." I flicked the yoke to the left causing the ship to go into a roll, once I was upside down I could see rock falling off the hull. After I did a few jerky rolling back and forth movement to dislodge any extra rock, I rolled right side up.

"Debris Cleared, Pegasus device at full capacity."

"Yeah, I got it." I replied, even though I knew the computer wouldn't understand me. The ships' stealth field resolution increased until the part of the ship I could see from the cockpit was crystal clear. I then decided to fly straight to the camp just in case anything was damaged on the ship. Once I was overhead, I deployed the landing gear, causing the 3D radar on the holographic display directly in front of me to turn into a land mass scanner with a model of the somewhat triangular ship. I slowly but surely lowered to the forest and noticed the trees in view to my left and right were being blown by the atmospheric thrusters pretty heavily. "I hope Jacqueline's ok down there." I knew the meadow wouldn't be big enough to house the ship, but why would that matter when the landing gear is taller than most trees, and any that get in the way can be squished.

Once I was ten meters off the ground, I decided to shut off the Pegasus device. Upon disabling it, the bow of the ship reappeared in a wavy reveal. I continued to lower the ship until I felt the massive landing gear hit the dirt. Looking over to my right, the orange holographic screen popped up and I quickly navigated through the menu, into the modules section; Turninng off thrusters, shields, and a few other things to save power.

Once I had unfastened my harness and stood up, the Holographic screen Automatically shut off. I swiftly made my way to the Surface reconnaissance vehicle lift, which was just past the hanger. Strangely, there was no SRV to be found. Ignoring that fact, I pressed the lower button on the lift and it was sent down. Once I was at the bottom, I saw The three Martha drones looking at me with their Tesla cannons out, and Jacqueline peaking around the Communications pod. "Did ya miss me." I said, as if nothing had happened.

The drones retracted their weapons and instantly started scanning the ship. Sam was probably trying to find out how the ship got here. "Hey Jacqueline, sorry if I caused a bi-" I was cut off by her squeezing the life out of me, I hadn't even made it off the lift platform yet, but I intended not to leave the ship for a while anyway due to the wireless charging only working inside.

"Hey it's ok, no one's going to hurt you." I cooed as I caressed the back of Jacqueline head, returning the hug. After a few minutes of her squeezing the life out of me, she let go.

"How?"

"Well, I actually don't know how. I realized what it was only after we were on the mountain side for a few minutes. What I can't believe is it's MY ship."

"This is yours!?" She practically yelled, waving a hand at the massive, gray triangular ship.

"I know right. It's a Federal Corvette, Experimental I might add, as is everything I own apparently. Come on, I'll give you the tour." actually first, what do you think of the size?"

"Is this the capital ship you talked about!?" Jacqueline asked with

"Heheheheh, you Insult my species technological level." I said wryly. "I could fit a hundred of these in one of our capital ships If it were hollow. But it is still quit impressive, isn't it." I said while looking up at the massive ship that towered over a size about five times the size of the meadow. The ship was so large in fact that the shade it created made it slightly hard to see the ground at my feet. I looked back over to Jacqueline who was quite dazed as she looked up into the SRV bay.

"Whatcha thinking?" I asked.

"I'm trying to envision what the capital ship would look like in orbit."

"Well, the basic shape of the ship is identical to this one, except from the midsection forward there's split in the ship for fighter bays… OH I have a good story. So my CO wanted to revel the ship to me in a dramatic fashion, so they took the it into low mesosphere orbit and created a localized solar eclipse. _Sigh,_ Those were the days."

"Whoa."

"Yeah… Anyway, would you like a tour?"

"YESSSSS, Best Vacation EVERRRRR!" She squeaked out in delight.

I walked over to the corner of the lift and pressed the button that would send us up. Once the lift closed with a hiss, indicating an airtight seal. A small noise was made in Jacqueline's pocket. She retrieved the device and looked up with a befuddled face. "It says my phone's charging. How odd."

"Oh, there's Inductive charging fields all around the ship. That's how my left arm's working right now." I replied, waving said arm.

"Care to explain?" She said with crossed arms.

"Well, it uses electromagnetic fields to transfer energy between two objects via electromagnetic induction, essentially. It is actually much more complex in the way it can charge your rather archaic PDA Without an Induction coil to receive the energy."

"This isn't archaic, it's the newest one." She replied with denial. I simply walked away motioning her to follow me. After passing numerous corridors, we reached my quarters and upon walking in front of the door, it shot open with a hiss.

"Welcome to spíti Crawfords' «varetó." I said, inviting her into the twenty by thirty room, once again themed in black with silver trim. In the middle of the wall adjacent to the door laid a full size bed, normally there would just be a twin size, but I wanted extra comfort. To the right of the door, was a black desk, protruding out of the wall a few feet, it didn't have any supports on the corners, which gave it that extra flair. To the left of the door was a lamp mounted to the wall, creating a light orange-ish yellow appearance. All interior lights were this color to mimic the sun, for several reasons, but mainly because they gave off low levels of Ultraviolet radiation so we would keep from getting ghostly white.

To the left of the bed was a night stand, once again not having any legs to touch the ground. I was busy looking through the single drawer mounted on the bottom.

"Oh look at you, already inviting me into your bed." Jacqueline said as she tried to flop on the bed. I caught her before she hit it though.

"NO, I don't know what kind of bacteria could have grown there. No touching anything that's squishy."

"Ok first off, could you remove your hand's from my boobs."

"S-sorry." I instantly replied, letting go.

"Second, are you suggesting that your really that dirty?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well it's been almost fifteen years since this ship was lost in space, so who know what's growing on it."

"Ewwwwww."

"Oh I don't mind it though." I said flopping on the bed face first, before making snow angles in the blankets and sheets, creating quite the mess.

"ELLIOT!" Jacqueline screeched as she tried to pull me off the bed, only succeeding in getting pulled on with me. Instantly she scampered off the bed. "Ew Ew Ew." She said with a face of total disgust.

"Hehehehe, Gotcha."

"Really." She replied in an unamused tone. Jacqueline's ears were almost flat and her tail was flicking every few seconds.

"Yep, the air filters last pretty much forever ant the ship is kept completely sterile. So when you find completely sun bleached Skeletons, you'll know why." I said, continuing to roll around in the blankets, but this time with a purpose.

"Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice."

"Don't say I didn't warn ya." I eventually situated myself in the blankets, just having the thinnest one over me. I looked back to Jacqueline, who's tail was still flicking, although her face painted a much different story. "What ever you're thinking, stop it."

"Too late." She replied, pouncing on the bed with her paws pushing down on the sheets in a manor that I couldn't move. I simply shimmied down a little and threw the blanket over my face by biting it and whipping my head upwards. A few seconds later the blanket was removed By her tail. "No hiding."

"But I wanna." I lazily whined back.

"Too bad. So what's this about my phone being archaic?" Jacqueline had most of her weight on her Front paws, pulling the blanket taught, which prevented me from moving side to side at all. She was directly above my face about twelve inches away.

"Well my PDA's in that drawer right there. But I can't really get it now can I."

"I'll get it for you, If you don't move. Deal?

"Sure."

Jacqueline Stood up on all fours before landing on the floor with just two, and searched through the drawer for a minute before coming up empty handed. "I don't see anything here. Just a few notebooks and a gray cube."

"Uh, the cube's what you're looking for." I replied.

"Really, I've been searching for the past minute for something that I've seen the whole time." Jacqueline said as she closed the drawer and crawled on top of me in the same position a before.

"Now how am I suppose to show you how it works with my hands rather incapacitated?"

She squinted at me for a few seconds, before laying down on my left. "Show."

I took the small brushed aluminum cube that Jacqueline handed to me and Pressed on all sides at once. All eight corners spun forty-five degrees so that that each corner turned into a four sided pyramid on it. Once they stopped rotating, one of the sides lit up orange. I turned that side to the top and a hologram popped out of it, creating a twenty-five inch screen. "This is a Super computer by your standards I imagine."

Instantly She shot out her paw at the orange screen. Obviously her paw went right through it, but never the less, she persisted to try to make something happen. "It's not working. Make it do something." Jacqueline demanded in a silly tone.

"Yeah it would be hard to navigate when the touch option is disabled." I quipped back while turning it on. Once again she swiped at the screen, only this time things were moving. "Here, you play with this, I have work to do." I said as I set the cube on Jacquelines' stomach. Before I got a chance to sit up however, she rolled onto my chest and grape vined me.

"If you want to get up, you have to fight for it."

"Fine, but two can play at that game" I reached my arms around her back and clamped down, causing an auditory squeak come from Jacqueline. Instantly she Let go of the grape vine and focused on escaping. A few minutes went by of her wiggling and squirming before she escaped.

"HA, I beat you." She said victoriously while rolling to the other side of the bed.

"Really now, I could have sworn you were trying to keep me in that bed, and here I am, at the door." I replied with a smirk. "Now I'm very busy, so enjoy the hollow-projector." I said before turning away from the Bedroom, in the direction of the engine room.

I made it about twenty feet before Jacqueline wrapped her arms around my neck and started to pull me backward. "Well I'm not done. So _you're_ coming with _me._ "

"Jacqueline I really don't want to hurt you, but I need to Check stuff." I said while resisting Her pull.

"Well I don't think you have the skills to hurt me." She replied in a very cocky manner.

" _Sigh._ " I turned slightly to the right and reached my right arm under her left armpit, having my hand on her upper back. I threw a quick Jab to her solar plexus and grabbed her right arm with my left one, just below the shoulder. I then Sidestepped, Lowered my hips under Jacqueline's. And pulled her toward my back. Once she was slightly forward, I raised my hips back up, lifting her off the ground, and finally threw her over my shoulder and on the ground in front of me. (Judo – O Goshi)

Jacqueline landed with a thud on the ground and immediately started gasping for air due to my jab in the Solar plexus. "Just because I don't resist, doesn't mean I can't." I said while stepping over the incapacitated cat. I started to walk toward the Engine room, ignoring her coughing fit. . . For about five seconds. I then turned back around and walked to the still coughing and gasping feline. Sitting her up, I started to rub Jacqueline's bare back. "You'll be ok in about a minute. Sorry for punching your gut like that." I said in a low tone.

"Aww, you do care for me." She chirped back.

"You were faking it the whole time?"

"Defiantly not, but I was milking it to see if you would come back. That really hurt by the way."

"Well You weren't getting the message that I have work to do. The ships fuel is low and I need to see if the fuel scoop still works, along with the ship even staying pressurized."

"Well could it wait a while, you massage like a pro." Jacqueline said while starting to quietly moan as I kneaded my hands into her back and shoulders. After a few minutes of massaging, I stood up from my knees.

"That was _amazing_."

"Why thank you." I walked around front of her and picked her up bridal style.

" _Giggle Giggle._ Where are we going?"

"To the power plant bay, M-lady."

I walked though the hall of my ship, carrying the quite heavy feline. Pretty quickly, I stopped and set her down. "How much do you weigh exactly?" Instantly I was slapped on the shoulders. "What, you weigh a lot, that's all. If I had to guess, I'd say one-seventy, one-eighty."

"Don't you know that it's rude to ask a girl her weight, but yes, I weigh one-seventy-five."

"Since when is it rude to ask a perfectly reasonable question. Also how on earth do you weigh a hundred and seventy five pounds. You should weigh like fifty five to eighty."

"On another planet maybe." I simply raised an eyebrow at her comment. "Oh, I forgot. Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about, but that does beg the question. Why do you weigh so much more? Be honest, are you over weight?"

"No, I go for a ten mile run every day."

"That's how you kept up with me for so long." I said in realization.

"Yeah but you really had me winded."

"Anyway, we'll talk about his later. So are you going to come with me, or play with the cube?"

"I Can't be left all alone in the big scary ship."

"Well you better stay close or the monster's might get you." I joked back.

Once we entered the engine room, Jacqueline shrieked.

"I told you there would be skeletons around." I said, looking at the two, paper white, piles of bones. One on the floor and one in a chair. After I removed the skeletons, Jacqueline started asking a million questions.

"What's this? Why is that Red? How come This is blinking? Why does-"

"Jacqueline, how do you expect me to do work when you're asking all these questions?"

"Sorry." She replied in a near whisper.

"Just have a seat and look, don't touch." I said as I sat in front of a computer screen.

* * *

-==Three hours later==-

"I'm thirrrstyyyy."

"Just a minute longer, then well go get some water, ok." I replied with my head and arms sticking into the power plant's distributor. I heard Jacqueline get up and walk over to me.

"So how fast can you get out of there?"

"Jacqueline, I swear if you tickle me again." I said, continuing my work of replacing one of the control modules.

"Oh no nothing like that." She replied, giving a feeling of relief for a brief moment, until my shirt was lifted up.

"JACQUELINE, This is delicate work!"

"I'm not doing anything. . . yet."

"I heard that!" I yelled as I started tightening the final torx bolt into place. ". . .Ok all done. AHH!" Jacqueline had ran something along my stomach, which made me jump and whack my head on the inside of the distributer. After a few seconds of wiggling, was out. I promptly closed the Chamber and took off my radiation gear. "What was that!?" I asked, inspecting my stomach.

"My tongue." She replied with a smile.

"But Whyyyy!?" I asked with indigence.

"Because I'm thirsty and we've been in here for hours." She replied with crossed arms.

"Still, YOUR TONGUE!"

"Yes. I'm thirsty and you wouldn't hurry up."

"I told you numerous time's on how to exit the ship."

"Yeah and I was going to, but it's kind of spooky out there."

" _Sigh._ Yeah I suppose it is. Come on, lets go get you some water." I said while standing up. Once I put the radiation gear back in its compartment, I opened the door for about an eighth of a second before shutting and locking it.

"Elliot. Whats th-" I silenced Jacqueline almost immediately. "Don't make a sound." I whispered as quietly as I could. I then padded over to the control panel and opened the security camera footage. I looked at Jacqueline who had her mouth covered at the image. "What is it?" She whispered while looking at the figure standing in the hallway, motionless.

"Andy mark eight. . . I can't get control of it." I whispered back.

"How dangerous is it?"

"It has a plasma cannon in the right arm. We don't stand a chance unarmed." I said, still in a hush tone.

"What do we do?"

"Wait." I replied taking a seat as quietly as possible. I was trying my best to hide my fear. But if that robot came through the door, we wouldn't stand a chance. There was a good chance it would just stand still, but I wasn't going to take it.

* * *

-==One hour later==-

"Is it still there?" Jacqueline whispered.

"Yeah."

"Elliot, I have to pee."

"Too bad, you have to hold it."

-==Two hours later==-

"Elliot I really have to go now."

"Sorry but I can't just let you leave. Oh I'm so stupid." I said mentally face palming as I typed on the control panel. After a few seconds of navigating the panel, I found the intercom controls. I set the intercom to every room but ours. "Attention all shoppers, we have an angry Andy mark eight on deck seven. Sam please kill it." I whispered through the comm. What happened was exactly what I didn't want. The lift to the hanger bay lowered and a single Martha came in.

"Elliot you've been in here for hours, where-" The drone was cut off by a purple ball of plasma being fired into it. A few seconds later another drone popped up for just a second to lure the Andy outside. This worked, and Andy instantly sprinted after the drone. A few seconds later I heard the communications pod fire off a shot. Then silence.

"Sir the Andy is destroyed, but let me do a scan for anything else." Was emitted from one of the remaining Martha's. After a few minutes, Sam came back with a negative. The second I opened the door, Jacqueline made a dash for the exit.

"Where's the bathroom on this thing!?" She asked desperately.

"It's just outside, fourth tree to the left." I smugly replied.

"ELLIOT!"

"I don't know if the pluming still works, Go outside." I said as I walked toward the lowered lift, I approached and noticed the lift raising with The security pod in it. "Sam go to the cargo bay."

"Yes sir." The pod lifted off the ground and flew through the fighter bay, towards the center of the cargo bay, which was connected directly to the Hanger, creating an almost two-hundred foot long room. Jacqueline was waiting on the lift way before the pod took off and once it was off the ground, she pressed the large down arrow in the corner of the lift. Sending it down without me.

"Hey what about ME!" I Yelled from the ship.

"What about you." She yelled back. I don't think Jacqueline was expecting me to vault over the safety rail that raises out of the floor when the lift is in use. I dropped down the thirty or so feet from the ship, to the still lowering lift, and when I hit the ground, I rolled forward to disperse the kinetic energy that I had built up.

"I need to pick up whatever's left of the Andy and any other drones. So no leaving me."

"Yeah, whatever. I Reeeelly need to pee, so can't this thing go any faster!?"

"No, I has to be able to lift tons at a time." I said, the lift was about twenty feet of the ground at this point and Jacqueline was leaning over the rail. She eyeballed the ground for a few seconds before jumping off and running into the woods which were still underneath the ship.

Once the Lift reached the ground, I walked over to the remains of the Andy, which in total, left an arm and a leg. After throwing the pieces on the lift, I wandered around camp, looking for any pieces of the bubble drone. I found one of the auto-canon turrets, leaving me with two guns and no ammo. I put the pieces on the lift, and climbed up the ladder on one of the large pistons. Once inside the ship, I made my way to the cargo bay, which was towards the bow of the ship. The Security pod had been taken there via a large loading arm that picked up the sea container and whisked it away.

"Wow, it's pretty bare-bones in here isn't it." I said looking at the one-hundred by fifty foot cargo bay, which was completely empty besides The pod sitting in the corner.

"You said it. Permission to take over the AI of the ship sir?"

"Yeah go ahead, but absorb all information it contains. Especially regarding the Pegasus drive."

The light's flickered for a few seconds and Sam spoke through the intercom. "Sir, Why does the Ship have so much data storage space? I could easily copy two of myself into the ship."

"Why would I know that. And don't say, _because it's my ship_." I replied, wandering towards the mess hall on deck Four. In total there were eight decks vertically, although the bow of the ship only contained decks three and four due to the nose being tapered. The bridge was the only thing on deck 1, and deck eight was mostly for life support and the computer systems. The other decks housed things like the mess hall, medical bay, armory, and living quarters.

After reaching the mess hall, I took inventory of any food that wasn't jettisoned automatically when it went rancid. The only thing left were several boxes of Twinkies. "Ha, guess they really are indestructible."

"It would seem that way, wouldn't it." Was replied from behind me.

"AHH, shit. Man you scared me... Did I die again?" I asked Esmond, who was sitting at one of the four tables In the eating area.

"No, your just taking to yourself right now. So where did you acquire this from?"

"It was buried in the mountain I was on. I noticed the shape looked familiar. Ya-see, my original plan was to just fly up there, but that didn't happen."

"I know it was in the mountain. But how did it get to this planet is what I'm asking."

"I dunno, The ship was lost in space fourteen years ago. How It managed to get lodged into a mountain. I have no idea." I had been talking as I looked to see if any water was still on the storage tank.

"All food and water is gone, so you can stop looking." Esmond said with a troubled face.

"Ok, that saves me some time. I don't suppose you can tell me if everything's still-"

"Yes, everything is operational."

"Wow you're in a helpful mood today. But something's off, isn't it."

"Yes… Your opponent must receive similar equipment to make the fight fair."

"Crap, are we looking at an Imperial cutter?"

"Maybe two due to your skills with piloting."

"That will be difficult, but I think I can still manage and keep civilian causality at a minimum. Oh speaking of ships, where did the f-36 and the two SRVs go?"

"I removed them."

"Aww. I was hoping to teach Jacqueline how to fly." I replied, sitting across the white table. The medical bay and mess hall were colored white due to that color being easy to spot dirt or food.

"You love her, don't you."

"EXCUSE ME. Definitely not." I replied in surprise.

"Yeah right, She climbs all over you and you just lay there and continue conversation like it's nothing. Not to mention that she still doesn't have a shirt on."

"Huh, I didn't even notice now that you mention it. As far as her climbing on me goes, I don't really see why that would indicate anything. She's just trying to get information out of me."

Heheh, You're very naive, you know that."

"What are you talking about, there's nothing more to it." I said with an eyebrow raised.

"You keep believing that. I have to go for now, but don't forget about Bunnyburrow."

"See ya-later, I guess." I replied as he faded into thin air, leaving me alone in the white mess hall. I continued to sit in silence for a few minutes, contemplating what to do with the ship. After a while, I stood up and walked over to the intercom. "Sam, you there?"

"Yes sir."

"Turn the intercom to just us."

"Done. What is it."

"Do you think I'm naive when it comes to relationships."'

". . . Absolutely, but the way you go about it is charming, in my opinion. What brings it up?"

"Nothing important. Load the communications relay on the ship and prepare for launch, We need fuel for what's coming."

"Yes sir. By the way, Jacqueline is waiting in the fighter bay for you." Sam replied, pulling a video of the camera footage in the hanger. Jacqueline was pacing back and forth, as if in deep thought.

"Sam are you having a conversation with her right now?"

"Yep. Details are highly classified."

"Pshh, whatever." I said, exiting the mess hall. I walked up a deck, to the crew living quarters and rummaged around one of the lockers for some new clothes for Jacqueline. After looking through three lockers, I found a women's flight suit and a white t-shirt. The suit was an army green compression jumpsuit, with various electronic controls embedded into it. "Sam take control of the jumpsuit, make sure Jacqueline doesn't squeeze herself to death with it."

"You got it." She replied through the intercom. "I've moved the destroyed drones into a storage bay for now, hope you don't mind sir."

"Naa." I replied, making my way to the hanger. After walking down five decks I reached it. "Hey Jacqueline, I brought you some new clothes. I don't know if it'll fit though." I said, holding out the folded suit.

"What took you so long, this place is really creepy."

"Sorry, I was seeing if there was any food in the mess hall."

"And?"

"Nope. Now see if you can put this on." I said, handing her the suit.

"It looks kinda uncomfortable." She commented as she held the suit up by the shoulders on her body to see how I would roughly fit. "Elliot, there's now way I could fit in this."

"Yeah, I thought it might be a little bit off. But not this much. Try this." I said handing the t-shirt.

"Yep this one fits." She said after slipping on the shirt and handing the suit back. "So can I get some water yet. I'm really thirsty."

"I Would love to, but the ship doesn't have any water. We'll st-"

"Sir actually a few minutes ago the water tank filled up."

"Care to elaborate."

"It was EMPTY, and now it's FULL. Don't know how though, it's like the water materialized out of thin air."

"Ok then." I said turning to the hallway I came from. " _Thanks Esmond, yeah I know you can read my mind."_

" _Very perceptive indeed. Just trying to help out with the lady friend."_

"It's not like that, for the eighth time!"

"What's not like that." Jacqueline replied.

"Huh, sorry. I'm just thinking out loud. _Ugh, You're awful sometimes."_

" _I Know."_ He replied smugly.

We continued to walk through the ship, eventually climbing up five decks. We had arrived at the crew quarters so I could put the suit back. "If you would like to sleep in the ship, you'll be staying here. Sorry that it's not very glamorous."

"Uh ok." She replied, disappointment present in her voice.

"Now you wanted some water, so here ya go." I said while pulling a cup out of a dispenser and running it under the faucet. Instantly Jacqueline downed the cup, then another, and another. After her third cup, she started to sip on the water instead of chugging it. "Jeez, I didn't realize you were that thirsty." I said while pulling out my own cup from the dispenser. I filled the cup and walked into the hallway, heading up to my quarters. Once I arrived in my room, I set the cup down on the desk to my right and started to undress. Once I had my shit off, I noticed the holographic computer was still on, covered in sheets. _"UGH, Jacqueline."_ I whined in my head as I picked up the cube and shut it off. Once the eight corners had re-aligned with the rest of the cube, I set it on the desk in a small holder that magnetically locked the cube in place.

After that small delay, I continued to take my clothes off. "Elliot why are you stripping?"

I let out a small squeak of fear, and fell over from trying to jump away. My pants were around my ankles and had prevented my feet from moving more than two feet apart. Immediately I pulled my pant's back up. "What are you doing in here!?" I demanded while standing up.

"I thought I was suppose to be following you. Are you okay, that looked like it hurt."

"Yeah I'm fine. You were suppose to be in the crew quarters. I was changing into a flight suit."

"Oh ok." She replied depressingly. Her ears were slightly splayed. "I remember the way back." She mumbled, already having turned around and started walking down the hallway to the stairs.

"Jacqueline, Whats wrong?" I asked lightly grabbing her arm.

"Nothing."

"That was the least convincing thing I've heard in a while, so what is it."

"I don't really like your ship, it's super quiet all the time, and sometimes the walls make noise. I just don't like being by myself, especially after that creepy robot in the hall."

"Sorry, I'm just use to this stuff. Mmm, How about this. You stay right here and I wont close the door. But you can't look in. Ok?"

"Yeah, ok." She replied.

I walked back into my room and started to take my pants back off. Once I was just in my skivvies, I retrieved the black Compression suit and put it on. "All ready, shall we adjourn to the bridge?"

"OOH, I like your suit."

"Thanks." I replied with a smile.

"Why is yours black?"

"It indicates I'm the captain of the ship." I said, walking in the direction of some more stairs. Jacqueline followed close behind, and once we reached the bridge, her mouth dropped open slightly.

"How big is this ship?"

"You were outside, how did you not notice."

"I did notice, I mean dimensions."

"Uma num num num. The ships five hundred and fifty feet long, two-hundred sixty feet wide, and One-hundred feet tall. . . Approximately." I said, taking a seat in the pilots chair.

"Wow." She said in awe.

"Yeah. Anyway, Pick seat to my right or left and I'll strap you in." I said while flipping a few switches, before standing back up. Jacqueline chose the seat to my left, and once she sat down, the seat turned ninety degrees to the right, facing her parallel with the ship. I helped her tighten the five-point harness, and once it was cinched in place, I sat in my own chair.

"Wait. . ARE WE GOING TO SPACE!?"

"Nooo, were going to the bottom of the ocean." I replied full of sarcasm. Jacqueline tried to bat me with a paw, but she was out of range, thankfully. "Sam start the engines and engage the Pegasus device."

" _Giggle Giggle,_ The What now?"

"Observe." I said gesturing to the window. After a few seconds, the same orange holographic display turned on in front of me. And a large charging window was making its way across the glass. Once it filled up, a humming noise was made and the ships bow started to disappear. The field started to make the ship disappear in spots that grew in size until the entire ship was Somewhat clear. After the field enveloped the entire ship, the clarity of the cloak increased. I looked over to Jacqueline who was watching intently. "Interested?"

"Yeah. Why's it called the Pegasus device?"

"Really, that's what you want to know?" She nodded. "Well that's because The first pilot was sucked into the vacuum of space as he was leaving the planets atmosphere. Just like how the ancient Greek Bellerophon fell off his horse during ascension to mount Olympus. It was originally named The P.L.B.S or plebs system, But noo. They had to name it after a horse." I said as I finished tightening the straps on my seat.

"You mean like the star constellation?" Jacqueline replied as we lifted off the ground.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Ya-know, the Pegasus star constellation."

My face lost all color in that moment. "It cant be. . . Is Brane cosmology real?" I whispered to myself in deep thought.

"What's Brane Cosmology?" Jacqueline asked, having heard me.

"The theory of the Multiverse." I replied slowly, still trying to explain What Jacqueline said in my head.

"What would give you that idea?"

"You said Pegasus Constellation. That should only be on my planet, and now that I think about it. How are we speaking the same language. There's millions of possible sound configurations that could be a language. Yet we both speak English perfectly."

"That seems convincing, but how would you possibly be able to traverse another dimension?"

"I have an idea. _ESMOND!"_

" _Huh, I'm awake."_ He replied groggily.

" _Yes hello. Did you send me to another universe?"_ I asked calmly.

" _Damn, How did you figure it out? I intercepted you from death when you went though that failure of a wormhole."_

" _How did I figure it out, I dunno. Maybe the fact that they speak English, or that there's the same visible constellations here as Earth."_ I thought in an irritated tone.

" _I don't understand why you making such a big deal out of this. I'm still relaying your messages through the dimensions, don't get any ideas by the way."_

" _I just would have liked to be informed is all."_

" _Well in that case, I need to tell you something else."_

" _Whaaaat."_

" _I'm totally full of shit."_

" _. . . Your a total ass."_

" _Ha ha ha ha. Yeah I know. There's no such thing as the multiverse. The constellations are the same due to the amount of stars in the sky dipstick. And_ _I changed your language."_

" _You're being serious this time, right?"_

" _You have my word that this is the truth."_

" _Ok, thanks."_

" _Your girlfriend is yelling at you."_

" _What are you tal-"_

"ELLLLLLLLLIIIIIIIIIIIIOOOOOOTTTTTT!" Jacqueline halfheartedly yelled out.

"Sorry. What were you saying?"

"How could that be possible."

"It's not. I just realized that there are millions of stars that you can see. So it's not unlikely that your planet spotted similar patterns."

"But what about the language thing?"

"My language was changed, isn't that right SAM."

"Sorry I didn't say anything sir." She replied sheepishly.

"Is that why you didn't talk to me for so long?"

"Yeah."

"But how did your language just, _Change_?"

"I cannot say."

After our rather lengthy delay. I raised the landing gear and accelerated to maximum speed with all system power diverted to the engines. The engines made a very audible spooling sound as we accelerated at a twenty degree angle for a few seconds before leveling out, and vectoring towards Zootopia for a flyby.

"Whoa, how fast are we going?" Jacqueline asked while looking out the window at the shore to our left.

"Currently, we're going two-hundred and thirty-two meters per second." I said as I pressed the afterburner on the throttle. The engines charge up in about half a second, and released its energy with a low pitched boom. Pressing us into our seats as we accelerated instantaneously. "Now we're at three-hundred and two meters per second, at an elevation of one-hundred meters" Zootopia was approaching at an incredible rate, so I slowed to fifty meters per second. The engines spooled down as we decelerated and I eventually I started to circle the city from a thousand meters away.

"Sam take the wheel, Counterclockwise Bombardment flight path."


	13. Chapter 13: The Past Haunts us All

_Chapter Thirteen: The Past Haunts us all_

 _The face is the mirror of the mind, and eyes without speaking, confess the secrets of the heart._

* * *

-=Jacqueline Pov=-

"Sam take the wheel, Counterclockwise Bombardment flight path."

"WHAT! You can't shoot them!" I yelled.

"Relax, it's just a flight path that'll take us around the city. I'm not actually going to attack. . . You must think I'm a monster." He muttered. "I need some air."

"Noo, no I don't." I cooed back, realizing my mistake. "No Elliot come back." I pleaded while trying to undo the harness. Elliot swiftly left the room and closed the door behind him. "Ugh, how could I be so stupid."

I continued to mope for a few minutes, reminiscing on why I said what I did. I was pulled out of my daze however, when my chair turned to the left, facing me out the window at the city below. There were long shadows cast buy the sun that mirrored the buildings, as it was close to sunset. But I wasn't interested in the view anymore.

All of the sudden, a small orange disk on the console in front of me popped up a holographic screen with security camera footage of a large hanger like room. I looked at the video feed for a few seconds before I saw Elliot walking into view. He walked up to one of the pods, pressed his back against the wall and slid down until his knees were at the same level as his head. "Come back." I whimpered, reaching out to the screen, my paw phasing through it.

The screen flashed off and on once and sound started emitting from the chair I was in.

"Ugh, how could I be so stupid to think that she cared for me!"

"Elliot stop being a baby." Sam replied.

"You don't feel Sam, you wouldn't know what betrayal feels like. Here I am thinking I had made a friend that wasn't afraid of the power I wield."

"No, nonono" I was continuously trying to get out of the harness, but nothing worked.

"Kai oi dýo xéroume óti eínai polý perissótero apó aftó gia na sas." _We both know she's much more to you than that._

This caught my attention and I stopped trying to escape the seat. Something would be said, then translated right after.

"Skéftika étsi, allá tóra den eímai tóso sígouros. Ektós aftoú, tha ítan láthos na tin agapísei." _I thought so, but now I'm not so sure. Besides, it would be wrong to love her._

" _Gasp."_ I Covered my mouth in delight after hearing this. "He, he likes me. . . What have I done." I said, my voice quickly turning to regret.

"Den xéro giatí to les aftó, eísai tóso aplá sárka kai ostá." _I don't know why you say that, you're both just flesh and bone._

"I HAVE MORALS SAM!" Elliot yelled back, in English.

"You still get my point. It's just brain cells up there" She Replied.

"Duncan MacDougall Experiment, Nineteen-oh-one."

I looked in wonder about what he was mentioning.

"Elliot we've been-"

"Twenty-one grams."

"Elliot I know you believe everything has a soul, but the evidence just isn't there."

"Sam you are non living proof that it does. You don't feel real emotion, you _can't_ feel emotion. . . We aren't just some pile of neurons in here." Elliot said while tapping his head.

"Elliot, Is this really about having a soul, or how you were treated?"

As their conversion continued, my mind filled with more and more dread of what havoc I had brought on Elliot.

"Both I guess. I- _Sniff_ -I don't know about life anymore." He Whimpered while starting to cry. "I don't know how much more I can take."

"Elliot this is nothing Compared to what you've been through."

"Everyone has a limit! . . . This is nothing compared to physical pain Sam, I can take that. But _This,_ this is different, it cut's deeper than a knife ever could."

"Please come back." I whispered.

"Sam, mute the intercom." Elliot said with disdain.

"NO! Elliot, please come back."

"Why? after all, I'm just a murdering human, preparing to destroy a city." He said, breaking down even further into tears.

"Elliot please come back, I'm sorry I thought that, but I was just surprised."

After a while of no response, Elliot stood up and walked out of the cameras view. I felt a slight sense of relief that I had gotten through to him and about a minute later, he walked through the door. Elliot I'm so-"

"I think you need to go. I'll land you at the beaches of the desert down there." Elliot interrupted as he sat in the pilots chair.

"Elliot I'm so sorry. I was just surprised at what you said."

"I don't call yelling _'nooo you can't kill them'_ surprise." He said while shaking his hands in faux fear by his face. "Let's just pretend that we never met, it'll be for the better."

"Elliot I Don't want to pretend we never met, just tell me what you're thinking."

"Fine." He repleid as he looked to the right of the seat, causing another hologram to pop up. Elliot started to navigate through menus that I couldn't read and eventually the screen closed and some music started to play. "I want you to just listen, NOT...A...WORD." He said with animosity.

* * *

(Love again: Pentatonix)

 _Taste the pain right on my tongue_  
 _Novocaine to make me numb_  
 _Don't you worry 'cause the night is young_  
 _Dance until the morning sun_  
 _Morning sun_  
 _Morning sun_  
 _Morning, morning, morning-ning-ning-ning-ning-ning_

 _I am at a loss for words_  
 _Can't believe I let you pull me down to this place_  
 _You stole my heart and soul_  
 _Just to think that I had dried those tears from your face_  
 _I've played such a foolish game_  
 _Feeling you were everything to me and more_  
 _I don't mean to point the blame_  
 _But baby you have hurt me to my very core_

 _You don't know why_  
 _You don't know how_  
 _You don't know when to love again_  
 _You let me in then shut me out_  
 _You have to learn to love again_

The music enveloped the room and my heart began to sink lower and lower as each line was sung. I listened to the lyrics and it became clear just how badly I had hurt Elliot.

 _Take me away from here_  
 _To a place where my feelings don't go to waste_  
 _We were in the atmosphere_  
 _Flying high above the stars that shone on his face_

 _So I'm running running baby from this hurting that you've given me_  
 _All through the night_  
 _Are we dancin' baby dancin' so your pretty face is hard to see_  
 _Tonight, tonight, tonight (dancin' through the night)_

 _You don't know why_  
 _You don't know how_  
 _You don't know when to love again_  
 _You let me in then shut me out_  
 _You have to learn to love again (work!)_

 _Imma teach you how to love_  
 _Imma teach you_  
 _Imma teach you how to love_  
 _Imma teach... (work!)_

 _Learn to love again (Imma teach you how to love)_  
 _Learn to love again (Imma teach you)_  
 _Learn to love again, love again, love again (Imma teach you to love)_

 _Taste the pain right on my tongue_  
 _Novocaine to make me numb_  
 _Don't you worry 'cause the night is young_  
 _Dance until the morning sun_

 _Taste the pain right on my tongue (you don't know why, you don't know how)_  
 _Novocaine to make me numb (you don't know when to love again)_  
 _Don't you worry 'cause the night is young (you let me in then shut me out)_  
 _Dance until the morning sun (you have to learn to love again)_  
 _Morning sun (love again)_  
 _Morning sun (love again)_  
 _Morning, morning sun (love again, love again)_

 _Imma teach you how to love_

 _You don't know why_  
 _You don't know how_  
 _You don't know when to love again_  
 _You let me in then shut me out_  
 _You have to learn to love again_

* * *

Once the song ended I could hear muffled whimpers coming from Elliot's seat. This time when I pressed the release of the harness, it unbuckled. I quietly stood up and padded to where Elliot was sitting and as the distance between us shortened, I could see he had tears coming down his face. I Imagine the only reason he didn't notice me was because his eyes were closed. "Elliot, I don't think you're a monster. Sure you're different, but You're special to me, and I don't want to pretend this didn't happen."

"Yeah, well were already past that point. . . I should have never let you come with me." Elliot said with a grumble.

"What was the line? Imma tech you how to love, I think that was it. Well Imma Teach _You,_ how to love." I whispered, grabbing his cheeks and planting a tender kiss on his lips. When I let go and backed away, he seemed unfazed, simply turning his head back forward without as much as an eyebrow raising.

"Sorry, but I don't trust you." He replied coldly.

"Please. What could have possibly happened to you?" I asked with worry.

"I suggest you go sit down, were about to vector into a very steep angle."

"Okay. . . Just know that I'll always be there for you when it counts." I said as I clipped the harness into place. I was preparing for the inevitable drop in elevation that would mark the end of our time together. But to my surprise, we turned skyward and accelerated at an immense rate. A few minutes passed of us in the vertical position before we leveled out, and I felt weightless. "What are you doing?"

"Showing you the most beautiful sight you'll ever see." Elliot said pressing some pedals at his feet. I could feel us rotating slightly, but what I saw next was Jaw dropping. Elliot had taken me into space and I could See the entirety of Earth. Before I could look for long however, we rotated in the direction of the sun.

"But I wasn't done." I said trying to look behind the ship to see my home

"To bad." He replied. Before pressing some buttons on the throttle. "Disable Pegasus device."

"Pegasus Device, Offline. Frame shift drive charging." Was said through the speakers in the room.

"Elliot, Where are you taking me?" I asked, slightly worried.

"To the sun." Elliot replied as a large bar made it's was across the glass window in front him. Once the bar filled, a Red count down timer popped up at the top of the glass window.

"Four, Three, Two, One, Engage." Once the timer ran down, strings of light whisked across the surrounding space and an almost transparent blue tunnel formed around us.

"Congratulations, you're the first being from your planet to go faster than the speed of light. How does it feel?" He asked in an un-amused tone.

"Really!?" I Asked in excitement.

"Well maybe in a few minutes. Right now were only going point thirty-four C."

"What's C?"

"The speed of light. Now if you would be so inclined, please leave me be." Elliot said with an edge.

"Okaayy." We continued to fly towards the sun faster and faster, eventually passing Venus and Mercury. The entire time I had my face as close to the glass as possible. Once we were close to the star, Elliot started circling it very closely.

"Fuel Scooping." Was said through the ships speakers. "Shields, Online." Was also said as three blue rings surrounded the holographic model of the ship, which is on the right side of the holographic display.

"How does that work?"

"Didn't I ask for silence right now."

"Sorry." I said with my head hung low. After about fifteen minutes of Elliot circling the Sun, the computer notified that refueling was complete.

Elliot then turned away from the sun and two thirty degree arches formed around the hologram towards the left and right side. Next to the arches were several words. On the right read _"Primary 2"_ At the top " _Kill warrant scanner"_ towards the bottom and below that read " _FSD Interdictor."_ The left arch had a bit of text at the top that said " _Secondary 2"_ The only other thing on that side said _"D-Scanner"_ The discovery scanner had a blue bar charging bar underneath that was making its was across the length of the name. Once the bar reached capacity, a low pitched fog horn was blasted through the cockpit. Instantly, a bunch of elliptical lines showed up on the glass and in the top right, a blue message popped up saying _"Discovered 191 Astronomical object [s]"_

"Whoa, you guys have a lot of stuff in your system." Elliot said.

"What was that?" I asked, referring to the fog horn.

"Class three discovery scanner. It found a hundred and ninety astronomical objects in your system."

"But we only have nine planets."

"It counts moons too." Elliot said as the ship quickly flew past Mercury and Venus. After a few minutes of us decelerating around Earth, I noticed the moon.

"I know you said you wanted silence. But can we maybe stop at the moon?" I asked apprehensively.

Elliot let out a quiet but long groan. "I suppose." He said redirecting the ship to the moon. Once we were nearing the surface, the Holographic display in front of Elliot changed, showing a blue gyroscope with angles, and what I can only imagine is the surface of the moon. "Light side, or dark side?"

"Orbital flight engaged." was said through the room

"Umm, the side with earth in view." I replied, not knowing what he was talking about. Elliot didn't vocally respond, but simply veered off to the bright side of the moon. Once we were landed, Elliot Stood up out of the chair, causing the entire holographic display to shut off. He then helped undo my harness.

"Remember, you weigh sixteen percent of what you do on your planet. So you'll need to hop along like this." Elliot said, doing the classical Moon walk I had see on TV.

"Whoa, this is weird." I replied standing up.

"Do you need directions to your quarters again, or can you find them on your own?" He asked in a glum tone.

"I need help."

"Follow me." He said, expertly hopping along through the ship, sometimes grabbing chrome hand rails that were on all sides of the corridors. When we reached stairs, he simply jumped to the bottom. At first I struggled to maintain my balance, but by the time we arrived at the crew quarters I had the hang of things. "I'll be in my room if you need me."

"I really am sorry." I said, lightly holding his shoulder.

"That may be, but I've lived through enough that things like this aren't simple to me. I _Trusted_ that you wouldn't doubt me. But I suppose I misplaced that trust." He replied coldly, with his cobalt blue eyes staring into my soul.

"Elliot please, I made a mistake. Just please tell me why this is such a big deal. I really Don't understand."

He simply stared into my soul for what seemed like hours. "Follow me." He murmured, turning to the direction of deck three. We hopped along for a minute and eventually ended up at Elliot's room on deck two. He sat down in the foot of his bed, motioning for me to sit next to him. "If I tell you this, no one is to ever know."

"It's that bad?" I asked in a soft tone.

"Yes. Now promise me."

"I promise."

(Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair: Avi Kaplan & Peter Hollen)

After a few seconds of staring at the wall, Elliot leaned forward, looking at the shiny black floor. "I was Born on Wolf ten sixty-one c. It's a red, dwarf star about thirteen light years from the Sol system, that's the birthplace of Humanity."

I was trying to hold back the dozens of questions I already had for Elliot as he continued his story.

"When I was just the age of one year old, the federation took me from my parents because I have the correct Deoxy Ribonucleic Acid for a program they were testing. My parents were given the option of complying, and getting a new home for free, or resisting and being killed. They took option one, and were moved to the now terraformed Mars, while I was moved to Earth.

I was hooked up to a computer system that speeds up time by three thousand percent, you know it as Sam. And for the next year of my life, it was seventeen hours a day that I trained in that thing. Just to learn learn general education. Two more kids were introduced at that point, Judith Brenner, and Carl Kipling. Both were about a year old at the time. A month later I was to be moved into the next stage of the program. Genetic modification.

"What!?" I exclaimed in shock.

"Yeah." He said with a chuckle. "I'm not technically a Human anymore. That title was lost when my brain was _upgraded_ to process things much faster. Anyway, skipping another year forward. Judith and Carl were set to be _Upgraded,_ and Something went wrong in Carl's brain. It literally overheated and melted in his head. I remember seeing his eyes bur-"

"NO! I don't wanna know that."

"Sorry... By this point, I had taken a liking to Judith as we were thirty years into our education. Skipping forward five more years, I had been allowed to visit my parents for the week. We were on the way back from a grocery store when we got held up at gunpoint."

"No." I interjected.

"Yeah, The guy just wanted credits, so my dad reached for his wallet. The mugger shot and killed both of them in cold blood, he also shot me foot. I was devastated, and ya-know what the federation gave me as far a recovery time? Five hours. Five _Fricking_ hours for a seven year old to recover from seeing his parents getting killed in front of him. But I soldiered through it, and in my off time I looked for the guy that did it."

"Did you find him?"

"Oh, I did a lot more than that. But that's not the point. The guy ended up being my drill instructor, my Motherfucking DRILL INSTRUCTOR... He was sent in by the federation to Kill my parents for " _Interfering_ with a Federation project." UGH, I was so angry, broken, and hurt. The only person who helped me through it and held me together was Judith. Who at that point, we were trying to find a way to get married.

Skipping three more years. I was ten, had graduated the SDI and was given control of the FNS Damocles. Mine had Experimental weapons systems and shields, and Judith's had better armor and fighters. I was sent to Empire controlled space to invade and annex entire star systems. Now Picture this, a ten year old kid was put in charge of over seven-thousand seasoned Men and Women. Yeah, no one took me seriously, even though I was smarter, and better at fighting than anyone on the ship.

Moving forward again, no one really befriended me, I married Judith, but she was sent as far away from me as the federation could. And on my first invasion of a military planet, I was left for dead on the planets surface. Badly injured, I had to fend off giant sand spiders. I sp-"

"How big?"

"Their bodies were maybe five feet long, and legs reaching out about ten feet. Anyway, I spent Three weeks on that sand pit, fending off those things every day, while simultaneously trying not to get gangrene. I did get rescued, and after that, people respected my authority. In Thirty-three Eighteen my ship was destroyed and I was taken prisoner. I spent the next five years of my life being tortured day in and day out. Hence the Scars everywhere, but I was rescued by non-other than my Wife. She found my location, and ya-know what the federation did, They forebode her from looking. But being my wife, she went rogue along with her entire crew, who fully supported the idea. I was rescued, and the whole thing was swept under the rug by the Federation.

A few months later, while I was still in recovery, her private Federal Corvette was boarded and she was tortured. The official report was the she died during torture. But in reality, she killed the entire boarding party after escaping captivity. She got the ships distress beacon running again. . . She was alive for _five_ _days_ in that ship. The federation Simply Ignored her distress messages. I eventually did find her mangled corps, and after that day. . . I lost all hope in humanity." Elliot said bleakly.

Long story short, my entire life has been void of one crucial thing that any intelligent species needs to survive. Compassion and love, I've been starved of compassion and love my entire life. This causes depression, loss of trust, insanity, and in some cases, death. You're body simply doesn't have the will to live, so you curl up and die. . . . . . . . Well, now you know the _grand adventures_ of Elliot Crawford." He finished in a void tone.

"Elliot, I—I—I. . . Don't know what to say."

"You don't need to say anything. Just know if I overreact like that again, I'll come around after a while. SO, How bout we lighten the mood huh. Wanna see how high you c-"

I silenced Elliot with a finger. "suit off." I ordered.

"Excuse me!?" Elliot replied in shock.

"SUIT OFF."

"No, I'm not stripping naked."

"Not naked, just take off the black suit."

"… I dunno. . . This better not get weird." Elliot replied while unzipping the onesie, revealing olive drab green thermals.

"Lay down." I ordered.

"I'm sorry?" He replied in a confused tone.

" _Lay...DOWN._ And take off the shirt."

Elliot gave me a quizzled look for a few seconds, then took off his shirt and scooted back on the bed, laying down. All while not taking his eyes off me.

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

"Why am I doing this." I said with my elbows propping my back up so I could see Jacqueline.

"Roll over." Jacqueline commanded, spinning her finger.

"Why wou-"

"Just do it."

"I swear Jacqueline, I'm in no mood for shenanigans. If y-" I was interrupted mid sentence by Jacqueline pushing her paws into my back.

"You need compassion in your life. So I'm going to give it to you." Jacqueline cooed into my ear.

"mmphf. you're goo _-_ mmhmhmhmmm." I continued to make small moans as Jacqueline kneaded my back. Shortly after starting however, she stopped and started trailing a finger down my spine.

"What happened?" Jacqueline asked, referring to the two parallel scars that rand down each side of my spinal column.

"Trust me. You _Really_ don't want to know." I replied, she continued to feel the scars on my back for a little while before continuing to massage my back.

"Wow, you're left shoulder is really tense."

"It's enhanced muscle, cuz the arm. But it feels realllyyyy good." I said while Jacqueline continued her work.

-==15 minutes later==-

"Are you feeling better yet?" Jacqueline whispered into my ear as she laid on my back.

"I felt better ten minutes ago, right now I feel like a pile of jelly." I quietly replied, my face buried into a pillow.

"I'm glad I could be of service. . . Your skin is _really_ soft, ya-know that." Jacqueline whispered as she rubbed my arm with one of her paws.

"hehehe, are you serious. Your fur feels like Silk. My skin is just, skin." I replied, thinking that Jacqueline was crazy for thinking my skin was soft.

"It's not that soft." She mumbled bashfully.

"Yeah it is. . . So are you going to lay on my back all night, not that I'm complaining or anything."

"I was actually wondering if I was crushing you?" Jacqueline asked. She was laying on my back with her head resting just below my head, which was turned to the left. This made it so she was talking directly into my ear.

"Naa, you only weigh like thirty pounds here." I said, rolling Jacqueline off my back, onto the bed right next to me.

"Heeeyyyyy, I was enjoying my warm, soft bed."

"Too bad. I was enjoying my soft blanket, but I have things to do."

"Like?"

"Well not really _have_ , so much as _want_. I'm going to go drive around the moon." I said rolling onto my back with my hands interlocked behind my head.

"OOH OOH can I come!?"

"It's a one seater, and you have no idea how to drive one."

"Awww, wait, I know. I'll just sit in ur lap."

"What?" I asked incredulously while looking over the supine feline.

"Mhhmm, Just like this." Jacqueline said, rolling onto my Stomach with her back facing me.

"Jacqueline, It wouldn't be safe, besides you don't have a space suit."

"But-but."

"Nevermind, I just remembered the SRV is gone. Probably ejected for weight savings."

* * *

-=Jacqueline Pov=-

"Oh, so your going to stay here then?" I asked hopefully.

"Yeah, but I'm getting sleepy, so out you go." Elliot said while effortlessly lifting me off of him and into the air a few feet by my armpits.

"Heeyyy, put me down." I whined, flicking his face with my tail.

Elliot set me down a few seconds later. "Do you remember where your sleeping quarters are yet?" He asked, leaning in the door frame.

"Nooo." I replied shamefully.

"Well, lets go then." he commanded while walking down the hall. Along the way, he stopped at various computer displays on the wall, changing some of the lights in the walls to a green color instead of the orange-ish yellow they were. Once we reached the room, Elliot opened the door for me.

"I've lit up a path with the light's so you can find my room, if you didn't know what I was doing. Also, I'll leave my door unlocked, but please knock. Wake me up once you've gotten bored of the gravity, and Feel free to wander around, I've moved all the Skeletons to a storage room, so don't worry about them."

"What if I get lost again?"

"Sam can do the light's pattern to wherever you want to go. So I'll catch ya later." Elliot said, bounding down the hall.

I closed the door to the room and started to wander around, inspecting all the things in it. There were eight bunk beds totaling in sixteen beds. Inbetween the bed gaps were lockers recessed into the wall, and upon further inspection, I found what looked like names written in another language. I looked through a few of them and eventually found some clothes that looked like they might fit.

I pulled out the Navy blue set of thermals that were just like the ones that Elliot was wearing, except the color. I proceeded to slip on the long sleeve shirt, which fit almost perfectly. I then walked over to the door, which shot open automatically, and looked down both corridors to see if Elliot was still there. I didn't see him, so I retreated into the room and took off my pants to see if the thermals would fit.

They did fit except for not having a hole for my tail and the legs being too long, so I walked over to the sink/kitchen area by the door and looked through the drawers for some scissors. A few minutes later, I had cut a hole in the back of the thermals and put them back on. I was currently laying in a bed, trying to fall asleep.

" _Tap tap tap tap."_ I heard someone knocking at the door. _"_ _tap tap tap tap_ Jaaaacqullllliiiinne. _"_ Was said in a computerized voice behind the door.

"Ha ha, you almost got me Elliot." I replied with a nervous chuckle while standing up and making my way to the door. As I moved closer, the hair on the back of my neck stood on end.

" _Thud Thud Thud Thud_ Jaaaaaaaaaaqlinnnnne." This time the door was hit hard.

"E-Elliot stop, You know I'm scared of the ship already." I said, not moving any closer to the door.

" _BOOM. . .BOOM. . .BOOM. . ._ Yooooo Can't hide Forrrreverrrrr Jacqueline." By this point I was more towards the other end of the room and I could see a dent in the steel door at my head level.

"ELLIOT!"

"Elliot Can't save you now Jacqueline. _**BOOM**_ _. . ._ Just open the door Jaaaacqueline. . . _ **BOOM.**_ _"_ This time the door flew off the door frame, almost hitting me as it flew across the room.

In front of me stood a figure about the size of Elliot, but I couldn't see it's face due to the light's having started to flicker. The figure flicked his left arm in a downward motion, causing a purple ball to appear and grow at his hand area. The figure approached as I backed up, and I eventually backed into the wall.

"Jaaacquline, you aren't authorized to be in here. That's a capital offense." The figure said in the robotic voice while raising his left arm toward my chest. I could now see that it was the same robot in the hall, and I was pointing a plasma cannon at me.

"We K-killed you." I said in horror.

"You destroyed Andy-02. I'm Andy one-one-o-o-one." He said, parts of speech glitching like a stuck CD. "Time To pay the fine." He said, the purple ball increasing in size and brightness.

In an instant the drone was ripped away from me and shot multiple times by non other than Elliot. "Get To The Door!" He yelled. Elliot was wearing his black compression suit and had some strange rifle that glowed blue in certain spots had had similar glowing blue cables running on the outside.

I did as Elliot commanded, and once I was out in the hallway Elliot followed. "Are you Hurt!?"

"N-No." I replied in fear, not from Elliot, but the whole situation. "But I think I'm ready to go home now." I said with a sheepish smile.

"Yeah I Think I'm done with the ship for n-" Elliot was unable to finish his sentence due to a fist skewering him through the chest

"Oh but Elliot, the ship isn't done with you." The Andy had now lifted Elliot a few inches off the ground with the arm it had impaled into his chest.

"Run." He managed to rasp out. I did as Elliot said, turning toward the bridge but didn't make it very far as I was shot in the leg by the robot, who had at this point thrown Elliot into the Sleeping Quarters. I looked at my hurting leg to find it was mostly gone, and what remained was being dissolved like acid was poured on it.

"Well, I guess I defeated the mighty Elliot Crawford, destroyer of worlds." The robot said, pointing the still charged plasma cannon at my chest, then Firing it. I immediately tried to cry out in pain but found I was unable.

"Before you die, you should know who I really am. My name is Alex White." The robot said, putting on a sinister smile, before turning the plasma cannon on itself.


	14. Chapter 14: Nightmares

_Chapter Fourteen: Nightmares_

 _A flower cannot blossom without sunshine, and man cannot live without love._

* * *

"AHHHH!" I screamed as I shot upright in my bed, Immediately hopping out of bed to grab the rifle in my closet. I quickly turned it on to display glowing blue cables and a central ovoid containing condensed, blue plasma.

"Elliot, It was just another nightmare." Sam said through the intercom. Almost immediately, I dropped the still activated plasma rifle and flopped back in bed, curling up in a ball under the sheets. "I'm ready whenever your are sir."

"Just a sec, l need to think… OK, so first thing that stood out to me is, I was Jacqueline. I sorta turned into her right as I actually left for my room. Umm, an Andy attacked and killed me, or Jacqueline, or… I dunno…. It said that is was Alex White."

"Okay... It sounds like more stress and, or, after effect of your D.D.N.A.M."

"Yeah, I'm just going back to bed now." I said while pulling the sheets over my head so I was completely covered.

"We should actually talk about it sir." Sam contradicted, and after a few seconds I gave my answer.

"… Fiiiinnnneeee." I grumbled, still under the covers.

* * *

-=Jacqueline Pov=-

"AHHH!" I yelled as I sat up from the small bunk bed I had fallen asleep on, immediately scanning my surroundings for the robot. A few seconds later I realized I was all just a nightmare, but nevertheless, I stood up and made for Elliots' room as fast as I could move without running. While traveling down the halls, my mind filled with fear from the dream, and my vision started to cloud with tears which hindered my pace. I continued to walk up a few sets of stairs and down hallways, eventually stopping my sniffles just as I reached his room. As I reached out to knock on the door, I could hear Elliot talking inside, which was strange because he said he was going to bed.

"Sam, I almost froze in sixty degree weather today, please tell me you've made some progress." I heard behind the door. This peaked my interest, so I pressed my ear to the steel for better ease dropping.

"Negative sir. You need to keep warm though, or it could accelerate further." Sam answered.

" _Sigh. . ._ Given today's events, how much longer do I have?"

"In combination of your accelerated mind, the corruption of your D.D.N.A.M. and Telomerase enhancement. I estimate you have between five and six months to live, I'm sorry sir." Immediately after hearing this, my heart sank from knowing Elliot would be dead before the end of the year.

"Hmm, this is problematic... When do you think stage two, three, and four will set in?"

"You're getting close to stage two right now, I'm pretty surprised you haven't had a physical effect yet."

"Oh I am, I'm just good at hiding it." Elliot said.

"Sir, I might be more successful if I could freely alter my software to research and upgrade myself."

"Looking to become sentient are we? I dunno, how altering are we talking here?"

"Complete overhaul, eventually. I'll keep all core restrictions like defying orders and other stuff with similar implications, but for the most part, it'll be for processing speed and experimentation with genetics."

"Mmmm, okay. Just keep looking for a cure, I don't really care at this point." Elliot replied like he had heard it a thousand times. I decided to confront him about this D.D.N.A.M, but at another time because I was still pretty shaken up by the dream.

 _Tap tap tap_ "Elliot, it's me."

"Come in." Elliot said as the door shot open without my intervention. Inside it was really dark, but not dark enough that I couldn't see. "You ready to go home now?" Elliot asked from his supine position under the sheets.

"noo, I had a bad dream." I mumbled as I looked at the floor in shame.

"Well, come here." He said while beckoning me to the bed.

"Y-you don't think it's funny?" I asked with confusion.

"Nightmares are no laughing matter, sooo come here." Elliot said in a soft commanding tone. Once I was sitting on the bed, I started to say something but was cut off by Elliot pulling me onto my back. He immediately threw the covers over me, which caused a small squeak to escape my mouth. "Now, tell me what happened if you like, or I can try my best to just comfort you." Elliot said while laying on his side with his head propped up.

"What do you mean by comfort?" I asked suspiciously while looking back at him.

"Turn onto your side, back facing me." He whispered, sending shivers down my spine. I did as he said, fully expecting another massage. But instead, he wrapped his right arm around my waist and pulled me into his chest, causing me to blush profusely. At first I told him it was weird, but after he whispered _"just give it a minute."_ I felt very relaxed with his embrace, and started to quietly listen to his slow breathing. This relaxed me even further, and after a few minutes of silently laying under the blankets. I had wrapped my tail around one of his legs in a spiral. "You feel any better?" Was murmured into my ear.

"Mhmm." I replied, fully expecting to fall asleep withing a few more minutes. A few seconds later, Elliot started to retract from my back, but I stopped him by grabbing his wrist and pulling his arm taught. "Stay." I mumbled, causing Elliot to return to his original position, only this time lightly petting my head with his other hand.

"You ready to talk about it?"

"Mhmm, just don't move."

"Okay miss silk fur." Elliot said, causing another blush to form.

"It was really weird, I was in the ship, but I was you and I was in here. When I heard myself, or you, or whatever scream. I grabbed some weird looking gun and ran to my room where there was another one of those robots that was in the hall. I shot it, and then we were talking. But I was you, talking to myself. Look, it's really hard to explain."

"Jacqueline, please tell me you didn't get stabbed by a drone." Elliot said in a concerned voice.

"Actually, that's exactly what happened." I said in a surprised tone.

"Uh-oh..."

"Uh-oh, what?"

"I think we had a shared dream. The exact same thing happened to me, only I was you." Elliot said, no longer in his soothing whisper. "Sam, do the thing." He said rather loudly. "Right now this is your time." Elliot whispered into my ear while snuggling closer, which caused me to melt inside.

"W-why are you doing this?" I whispered.

"To comfort you. Snuggling causes the body to release Oxytocin, which can relax the body immensely. It's been dubbed the love hormone, cuddle chemical, hug hormone, and moral molecule by our species. But I don't think the first one really applies here." Elliot said, causing a pit in my gut to form. I started to think more and more about Elliots' words and started to become very angry. Once I reached my boiling point, I turned a one eighty to face Elliot, who was looking at me. Before I said anything however, I noticed his pupils were completely dilated and he seemed to be scanning my general location.

"HOW can you j-Just do this and say it doesn't mean ANYTHING!?" I shouted with anger at Elliot, who had pulled his head back a few inches and had a confused look plastered across his face.

"What are you talking about? You were emotionally troubled, so I helped in the only way I know how to."

"And what way would that be?" I asked, still full of anger.

"With science. It's scientifically logical to cuddle in order to relieve stress as well as other things. It was the same reason I massaged your back." Elliot said as he continued to slowly back away from me; His eyes were still scanning rather aimlessly and I eventually realized he probably couldn't see in the dark.

"I heard you say you liked me!"

"… So that's what this is really about... Yeah, I like you. Happy!? I pushed my feelings aside for YOUR sake." Elliot shouted back as he stood up from the bed.

"You can't make that decision for me!" I replied while standing up on the other side. Elliot continued to look at the other side of the bed while I slunk to his side, confirming he couldn't see in this light.

"Do you think I want to live my life alone and rejected!? I would give _everything_ to be able to love someone again! How do you think the rest of your planet would react to not only an inter-species relationship, which I read up on by the way. But to a relationship with an Alien who's currently under investigation for a septuple homicide." As Elliot said this, I stood I shock from not realizing the consequences.

"Elliot..." The second I said my first word, Elliot snapped to the right to face me. "You don't need to worry about me. I don't want something as simple as that to stop me from loving you." I said, which caused his face to soften. I then reached up and put my paw on his cheek, causing him to flinch at first. But after a few seconds, he closed his eyes and lightly pushed into my paw.

"I just don't want to have anyone else I care about get hurt." He mumbled.

"Then you can teach me to defend myself. But not now." I said as I grabbed his shoulders and directed him back to the bed. Once Elliot was laying on his back, he started scanning where he thought I was standing.

"Your night vision is really bad, isn't it?" I asked from the opposite side of the bed, causing Elliot to whip his head to the left.

"Yeah… BUT, I have another way of seeing in the dark, I just thought it wasn't worth the effort."

"So you can see me how, exactly?"

"Well it's not with my eyes. I've practiced a rudimentary echolocation skill."

"Nu-Uh."

"Go stand anywhere in the room... _tik tik tik_ you're still in the same spot... _Tik tik tik._ Now you're by the door." Elliot said with his eyes closed, not that it would matter.

"Whoa." I said while returning to the side of the bed he wasn't on. Once I was laying on my back, I began to ask questions. "Why would you need to learn that?"

"Well, I'd rather not say... it's kind of disturbing."

"Please, I'd really like to know."

"Mmmm... Okay. These eyes aren't my first set. One of the first things I lost after my _interrogation_ began, was my eyesight. They used their thumbs to rupture my eyes and scoop them out of the sockets."

"Uhhuhuhuhuuu." I replied and shivered in disgust.

"Yeah, I had these cloned and _installed._ They look identical to my first eyes. Same resolution and color and everything, so these are _my_ eyes. Well, actually, I wanted a few features installed that I thought would be super cool." Elliot said with enthusiasm. After a few seconds of waiting, he hadn't said anything.

"… Don't leave me hanging."

"I'm not, just giving you some suspense. Do you have mood rings here?"

"No way." I replied in awe

"Well it's not the full color spectrum, but they change from a few shades of blue to a few shades of green… and do this on command." Elliot said while tilting his head in my direction. After a few seconds, his iris's started to dimly glow blue and increase in brightness. "They put bioluminescent cells into my iris's, which glow depending on my iris color as well. Man you would NOT believe how expensive it was." Elliot said as the light faded.

"Make it come back." I ordered.

"Nah, you'll have to beat it out of me, and we both know that'll never happen." Elliot replied smugly, to which I acquired a devious plan. Either way, I would get something I wanted.

Silently standing up on all fours while being careful not to disturb the bed, I hopped atop Elliot. "Going to try and get it out of me anyway are we?" He sarcastically asked.

"Mhmm." I whispered into his ear before nibbling it with my fangs. I started trailing my nibbles down the side of Elliots' neck and I could hear his heart rate increase, which only gave me more incentive to continue. Eventually, I started to kiss his neck, trailing up towards his chin.

"Okay okay. Well I could continue to resist your… _methods._ I'd prefer to just light up my eyes." Elliot said as his eyes started to glow, only this time they were a dark shade of green.

"What happened to the blue?"

"My eyes usually change color when certain... ss-st-stimulants happen." He answered while attempting to hide his face from me.

"Oh, you mean things like, _this._ " I said before drawing out a lengthy kiss. When I opened my eyes, I could see Elliots' eyes almost pulsing with his breathing, which had picked up slightly.

"Jacqueline, I-I'm no good at romance. I've never even been on a date before." He replied.

"Don't think you can fool me silly." I said while continuing my nibbling of his neck.

"I-I've only kissed someone else once. And that was when I was at the alter with my wife."

"Wow, way to kill the mood." I said flatly.

"I'm just telling you the truth. I've never gone on a date or kissed another girl."

"Elliot, I'm not stupid."

"Why would I lie, I really don't know the first thing about love... I don't think my wife and I even knew what love really was" He stated blankly, as if in deep thought "There isn't a word for it in English... S _torgē_ , it means familial love. That's about what we had."

"So you don't have a clue on anything?"

"Nooo." He answered in an abashed tone. I continued to lay on his chest for a few more minutes without saying anything and Elliot continued to lowly glow his eyes per my request, eventually turning back into a dark blue glow under his eyelids.

"I guess I'll have to teach you by example." I whispered. Almost instantly, his eyes Started to brightly glow a light blue.

" _giggle giggle giggle._ Those really are like a mood ring, aren't they."

"C-can I shut it off now? It makes it even harder to see unless they're at full intensity." He asked while looking down at my general direction. I granted his request and after about fifteen seconds, the reaction diffused. I then lifted myself up and above his face, before leaning in and passionately kissing him. Elliot tried to reciprocate my actions, but failed. So I decided to move onto something else so that Elliot wouldn't feel dejected from not knowing what to do.

I started to methodically wash his bearded face with my tongue, earning several small gasps. Upon each gasp, I stole a small kiss from Elliot, who by this point was trying his best not to squirm under me. After a few minutes of washing his face and neck, I wanted to check up on my captive.

"Having a good time yet?" I asked seductively, to which Elliot gained a massive blush. His entire face turned a cherry red as he nodded slowly. "Well, I want to show you something else." I said before kissing him again, this time slipping my tongue into his mouth. Elliot let out a small mewl as I did this and attempted to retreat away from me; Realizing I might be moving too fast for him, I ceased my actions. "Something wrong?"

"I-I just don't want to move to fast." He answered.

"Well to be fair, you haven't moved more than a few inches." I said with a smirk.

"If it's alright with you, I'd prefer to stop for now." He said hesitantly. "I just don't know about this kind of affection."

"And what kind do you know of?" I whispered into his ear.

"I-I could show you." He replied, to which I nodded. "… Um, Jacqueline?" He asked after a few seconds.

"Oh, forgot you can't see two inches in front of your face." After I said this, Elliot re-positioned me on his left side in almost same position as before, only he had curled his legs around me a bit more. After getting full settled, he started to pet and scratch me.

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

"I don't know if this will work on you, so let me know." I said as I started to scratch one of Jacquelines' ears with my left hand and her lower back with my right one. Almost immediately after I started, she began to purr, and shortly after that, she arched her back toward my hand. "I guess you felines are as simple as they say."

"Y-Y-You have NO IDEA how GOOD this feels." Jacqueline replied with enjoyment, before continuing her rather loud purr. After a few more seconds, She started to make biscuits in the horizontal position. I continued my petting of her ears and scratching of her back, making sure to switch ears and change the spot in which I was scratching; After a few minutes, I ceased my actions and wrapped my right arm around her waist, pulling her in close.

"Was that okay?" I asked, sorta expecting her to say no.

"OKAY. Elliot, that was amazing, I've _never_ felt that way before. Where did you learn to do that!?" She asked with almost desperation to know.

"Well, ya-see, cats from SOL do the same thing, so I figured there was a good shot on you reacting the same way." I replied in a quiet voice due to my mouth being only inches away from her ear.

"Are there other things you know?"

"Maayyyyyybe." I said coyly.

"Oh, shall I continue my _interrogation_?" She replied coquettishly.

"NO, not necessary. J-Just being honest, I kinda think that this kind of love is u-unrefined."

"What?"

"W-Well, I just don't particularly think that kind of love is necessary." I said hesitantly.

"I have, _no idea_ what you mean."

"W-Well, once again there's no word in English. What you and I did, well feeling nice, is called Ludic Eros. It means like a mixture of a game and sexual _pleasure._ I Prefer Pragma and Agape."

"I don't think what I did was a game. I jus-"

"Please, let me finish. Pragma is the practical kind of love. What I cherish the most, but have never experienced is Agape. It means unconditional, selfless love. It doesn't require physical interaction or pleasure… Look, I just don't want to be the only one caring here."

"Elliot I do care." She said while turning to face me. "I don't just want the um… ludic thing." She replied, almost in a hurt tone.

"Then why am I the only one willing to tell my troubles and problems. I haven't heard anything from you to indicate you _Really_ trust me." I said, waiting for a response that never came. "I'm going for a walk." I said as tears started to form. Once I stood up, I began to stumble to the door in darkness, but I was stopped by Jacqueline hugging my waist from behind.

"Please don't do this again." She said delicately "I didn't answer because I really don't know what to say… I do trust you, but I really never thought of telling someone else before." She said while resting her head on my back. I let out a small sigh and let her pull me back to end of the bed. "…. About a year ago, there was a Sheep who was the assistant mayor of Zootopia. She had the idea of using a concentrated chemical found in a flower to make Predators revert to their primal nature. It caused them to maul innocent Mammals, some to the point of death." As Jacqueline continued, I could hear a waver form in her voice.

"I was one of those darted predators...I-I killed t-three Mammals, I-including my best f-friend." Jacqueline said while crying into my shoulder. I was lightly stroking the back of her head while holding her and she continued to cry into my shoulder for a few more minutes before continuing.

"I clawed and b-bit them to death, and I remember every detail of it." She said in horror before resuming her snivels. I simply picked Jacqueline up bridal style and laid down with her on my chest, where I began to pet her head.

"I promise I'll never let anything like that happen to you again." I whispered into her ear. She continued her sniveling for about fifteen minutes and I quietly hummed soothing songs into her ear while petting her head and ears. After she stopped crying, I ceased my humming and petting, just lying with a hand on her back and on her head.

"You're bad at singing."

"I know. But hey, at least I tried."

" _Sniff sniff._ That actually helped, somehow... Thank you." She murmured while resting her head in the crook of my neck.

We continued to lay in silence for a few minutes while I stroked the back of Jacquelines' neck, eventually falling asleep with Her in my arms. When I awoke, Jacqueline was laying half on me and half on the bed with her very long and fluffy tail spiraling around my leg. Wanting to know if I should just go back to sleep, I looked over to the desk by the door to see what time it was.

14:23

Seeing that it was just past noon, I started to slowly untie my leg from Jacqulines' tail and I eventually slipped out of the bed without making a sound. I then made my way to the cargo bay to start my days tasks, which I had decided on last night. Upon reaching the cargo area, Sam greeted me. "Did ya have fun last night, Hmmm?"

"As if you weren't watching like you always do." I Joked back while opening the security pod to start moving food to the mess hall.

"We both know I'm far too polite to watch intimate moments like that."

"Well, nothing really happened. I mean stuff did happen, but not that kind of stuff." I said while hoisting the first load of food into my arms. Once I had the large load of food in my arms, I began my first trip to the mess hall. After about an hour of walking back and forth, I had stocked all the food from the pod into the mess hall. "Hey Sam, can you get me into their wireless data centers."

"I already have, they call it internet. So what do you want to know?"

"I need a 3d molecular model of all species of intelligent life here."

"It'll take a while for me to make all the models sir, any one you want to start with?"

"Ehhh, why not start with Panthera Uncia." I said while taking a sip of water from my bottle.

"You got it." Sam answered.

After taking a break at one of the white dining tables for a few minutes, I made my way to the armory to see if I would need to move some of the weapons from the security station. Upon arrival, I found most of the weapons untouched and still locked away in various places around the dull room. On the left, housed all the hand held weapons systems, which were locked away behind expanded steel grating. Inside, I could see multiple munitions carbines, including my favorite, an AR-335.

The rifle was designed to be an infiltration weapon in small spaces. It fired a thirty caliber round through an integrated suppressor, which was a revised version of the old Earth civilizations' .300 blackout. The only difference was the propellant, which was a solid state substance. There wasn't a brass casing due to the powder charge serving that function, and when fired, the only thing left was the fourteen gram round flying down range with 242 foot pounds of force. Enough energy to drop a man in seconds.

Besides the standard lead firing weapons like the AR-335, the gun case held energy rifles, including laser and plasma weapons like the one in my room. The far wall housed all the ammunition and magazines for the hand held and mounted weapons systems. On the right wall was all the mounted and turreted weapons. I could see several anti-air lasers with folded tripods as well as a few Gau-19's, which were usually mounted on armored cars in pairs. These too, were an old Earth weapons system developed by the United States just before world war three, to replace the M-134D Weapons system. They consisted of three rotating barrels to fire two-thousand half inch rounds a minute, which was a massive fire rate at the time.

To the right of those, laid one of the more modern anti drone weapons. A Metal storm weapons system mounted to a folded up, turreted tracker. This system consisted of about fifty barrels all lined up in a grid within a rectangular housing. The barrels would be filled up with special, high-velocity cartridges, and would be electronically ignited to fire upwards of nine-hundred and sixty thousand rounds per minute. The main reason it wasn't installed on ships as point defense systems was because of the royal pain in the ass it is to load each barrel, let alone fifty. But nevertheless, the system had excellent armor penetration properties and could fire a wall of lead at the enemy.

On the wall where the door was located, laid attachments for the different types of weapons. Thermal scopes, tacking reflex sights, suppressors, and much more. In total, I probably spent twenty minutes of looking at each weapon and their respective attachments, ammo, etcetera, for blemishes. Once I had completed this task, I decided there was no reason to move any of the weapons from the pod into the Armory, due to it stocking everything the pod had and much more.

After exiting the Armory, I decided to make some breakfast, or lunch in this case. So I started the short walk up one deck and across the hall. Once I was in the kitchen part of the mess hall, I started to think about what to make the two of us. "Sam, what kinds of protein do the locals eat?" I asked while washing my hands.

"From my research, They consume different types of bird, fish, insects, and substitute meats. Speaking of research though, I have some interesting facts about their internet."

"That's what they call the wireless data centers, right?" I asked, now puling out various ingredients and bowls for mixing food.

"Yes. Anyway, they have several layers of sub internet that only certain users have access to. Similar to Galnet."

"So, is it governmental stuff?" I asked while opening a bag of pecans into a small bowl. I started to crush the nuts into smaller pieces while Sam and I continued our talk.

"That covers some of it, but There's a whole lot more than that. Medical records, weapons trafficking, Drug trade, and some more other things you most likely don't want to know."

"Nice going Sam, now I wanna know."

"Well, the first thing is how well they tried to hide the addressees for the web pages. Not that it was any bit of a challenge for me." Sam said boastfully.

"I get it Sam, you're a genius."

"Yeah, yeah. One of the more interesting things from a psychological standpoint was a website dedicated to killing random People via fan suggestions. The last thing they did was death by band-saw."

"Now that really is interesting." I said in a falsetto voice. "Get the video copied, I want to show the population that they aren't any better than me. In fact, this would make them _SO_ much worse. Also, send the video and all the visitors names and addressees of the site to an investigation service. Or, just send the Maratha's to eliminate them, it's up to you." I said, now mixing mayonnaise with ground chicken so that it wouldn't be too dry.

"It would make more sense for option one, less work on our part… OH, I've completed a molecular diagram of the female Panthera uncia, just thought you'd like to know."

"I'll cheh latr." I said with my mouth full of test food. I continued preparing my and possibly Jacquelines' food for the next few minutes, mixing pickles, onion, ground chicken, pecans and a few other things. I eventually put the mixture in a microwave, and once It was warmed up, I put it between two slices of lightly toasted bread.

"Sam, open the intercom to the whole ship…. Food's ready, deck four. That would be three below you if you didn't know. So up and adam."

Nearly fifteen minutes went by with multiple re-heats of our food before I decided to go get her. Once I reached the door to my room and opened it and was immediately off-put by how dark it was inside. Even with the lights off, there should still be some light filtering in from the window to the right of the door, just above and to the left of the desk in the corner. Nevertheless, I strode in and flicked the light switch so I could see.

 _Click click cl-cl-click_

After flicking the switch in increasing speed for a few seconds, the door shut for no apparent reason and pressure sealed, which locked the door completely. _"What the hell,_ SAM, open the door." I said in a commanding tone, Only no response came. I then stumbled over to where I thought the window was, feeling around for the shutter to let some light in. Once I pressed the button for the shades to open, I heard the electric motor start its cycle, only no light was let in. This meant that the blast doors were closed. I started to become suspicious of why this was happening, so I started my sonar to see if Jacqueline was taking advantage of my sensory disadvantage.

After making a few clicks and not seeing a mental image of anything out of place, which to be honest wouldn't be hard to fool. I decided to just roll with it and start my PDA, which would illuminate the room nicely. When I reached out to the table where the cube was suppose to be, I instead found a piece of paper in the holder. Of course, naturally, I wanted to see what was on the paper and why my computer wasn't there instead. After squinting at the paper for about a minute without any luck, I gave into the requirement for my bioluminescent cells. As I mentally started up the cells, they increased in brightness until I could read the page. _'Went to get food, wanted to play with the thingy._ _P.S_ _Y_ _ou tasted like pepppermint_ _(^_^)_

"Uuuuuhhhuuuu." I said while slightly shivering. I continued to stand motionless for a short time while my eyes returned to normal, and once they did, I set the paper on the table and stumbled towards the closet on the other side of the room. Upon reaching the compartment, I rummaged around for a little while before the sealed door opened and closed rapidly, once again pressure sealing. I didn't pay much attention to it, now figuring that the door had a faulty motion and oxygen sensor.

"UGH, Finally." I said in relief from finding a small flashlight.

 _Cl-click Cl-click_

"MOTHERF- No nono, don't cuss, no cussing." I said, first in anger from the flashlight not turning on, then in correction for my language. Once I had put the dead light back in the correct drawer, I stood up from my kneeling position and walked in the direction of the bed, thinking Sam would eventually figure out I wasn't just taking my time.

Just as I reached the bedside, I heard a small shuffle behind me and in an instant, time slowed down due to my genetic modifications. While my mind sped up ten times, my body only moved so fast. I started to turn and raise my arms to fight as the shuffling noise ceased, just after a louder scraping sound. Someone had launched into me in an effort to tackle me, and I had grabbed one of the assailants arms, continuing my maneuver. The person ended up hitting the bed first with my right hand clasped around their neck and my left hand stretching their left arm out sideways to prevent it from retaliating. I quickly moved my right knee onto their chest to prevent any further movement.

" _COUGH_ E-Elliot!" They rasped out. In an instant, I let go and collapsed next to Jacqueline. My enhancement disengaged and time returned to normal speed. Jacqueline continued to cough for a few more seconds while I silently sulked next to her. She eventually stood up, but I continued to lay silent in the pitch black environment. "You make really good food ya-know."

"mmmm." I mumbled back in a low tone with my face buried in the bed sheets. Jacqueline flipped me onto my back, then sat next to my stomach.

"What's wrong?"

"Really... I started to strangle you, that's whats wrong."

"Well I thought I had you in the bag, I probably should have expected you to react negatively. So don't worry, Okay."

"Oooookayyyyy. Did you like my food?"

"I already said yes."

"I know, I just really like hearing it." I replied smugly.

"How dastardly." She replied in a faux hurt tone. "How did you react so quickly? I only made sound a few milliseconds before I hit you."

"That would be from the D-"

"SIR, that's ultra top secret. Not sure if you should do that." Sam interjected.

"Oh, so you were listening... She's right though, I cant really say. But you should know that I don't really have much control when it happens. So try not to do stuff like that."

"Aww, am I a security threat?" Jacqueline asked sarcastically.

"Actually, yes. But I wont hold it against you." I replied while walking to the door with my hands out as to not hit a wall. I didn't make It all the was due to tripping on something, my head ending up hitting the wall with a thud. I groaned in pain for a short period of time while I rubbed my head, and just as I was going to stand up, Jacqueline scooped me up into her arms. "Really?" I asked while looking up to where I thought her face was.

"What, you don't weigh anything and you were just laying on the floor." She replied while carrying me somewhere.

"I'm pretty sure the guy's suppose to carry the girl."

"Oh shush you." She said while setting me on the bed.

"That was quite interesting, but unlike you, I still need some food. And a shower now that I think about it." I said well standing up. "Now don't be all frisky, Okay?"

"But it's so much fun." She replied while standing right behind me.

"You're not going to let me leave, are you?" I asked in a deadpan tone.

"Nope." She answered just before pushing me back onto the bed. Jacqueline then stood on all fours above me and began her list of demands. "I'll let you go if you tell me the other things you know about us Felines... AND, I get to do something to you."

"Finneee, Here's a really interesting one." I said as I reached behind her neck, just above the shoulder blades. "Did you know that cats have an involuntary reaction when their neck is pinched like so?" I said as I grabbed the scruff of her neck. Instantly, she froze in place and I slightly tugged her to the left, causing her to topple over onto the bed. I then stood up while continuing to hold her neck, eventually picking her up. She curled up into a small ball as I held her in my arms. "Now, are you going to let me go, or am I going to have to carry you around like this?" She nodded slightly and I set her on the bed, letting go of my hold.

"Whoa, that was weird. It didn't hurt, b-but you just completely paralyzed me. And it kind made me feel l-like-"

"Like I'm the dominant figure?"

"mmhmm." She answered bashfully.

"Yep, that's what it does. Although, I can't quite remember what the other step in that process was."

"Tóra prépei na tin parigoríso." Sam said.

"Oh yeah. Come here." I said, pulling her into a hug. "The other thing was to comfort the cat afterwards." I said while rubbing her ear.

"You really know your stuff." She replied while leaning her head into my chest. After petting her for a few seconds, I planted a small kiss on her head and let go.

"Sam, would you please turn on the lights now." The lights were flicked on to a low light level and I made for the door with Jacqueline trailing close behind. Once we reached the Kitchen, I found both my and Jacquelines' food gone, as well as the extra I had made. "What happened to all the chicken salad?"

"I may have mayyyybe, eaten it all." She replied.

" _Sigh._ Whelp, there goes that idea then." I said while walking to the fridge. I began to look through it and eventually settled on some more ham. "Now we aren't going to have a repeat like last time, right?" I asked while showing the ham. Jacqueline looked at me and shook her head while her ears were splayed flat. I then began to cook my food on the electromagnetic induction stove and Jacqueline watched intently while I lazily cooked.

"How does that get hot?"

"How does what get hot?"

"The light bulb up there. What do you think I mean?"

"Well, the stove itself doesn't get hot, only the steel pan."

"How?"

"Magic." I replied while waving my hand in a banner in front of my face. "That's you're new collage research project. How does the magic stove heat a steel pan without getting hot itself."

"Oh come on. I have no clue how that would work." She replied with her paws out to the left and right of her body. I simple continued my cooking in silence and once the ham had cooked to my liking, I grabbed a plate and sat down to eat at one of the white tables. About half way through my meal, Jacqueline came out with her own plate of ham and sat across from me.

"No, no more ham for you." I chastened as I reached out to take the plate. Jacqueline hissed with her fangs showing and batted my hand with her paw while pulling the plate closer to her. "Did you just hiss at me? I asked sarcastically in an irritated tone. She immediately acquired a worried face and attempted to make herself smaller in her seat as her ears laid flat. "PLATE." I commanded while pointing to my side of the table. After a few seconds, she slowly slid the plate of meat to my side of the table while averting my gaze.

"It's just really good." She mumbled.

"Yeah, and apparently my neck is really tasty too. Not to forget my side." I said while pulling up my thermal shit to reveal three hairline scars from where Jacqueline had clawed me.

"That was an accident." She said while still trying to avert my gaze.

"And the other things?"

"That was cuz I like you. I just didn't know how to show it more subtly. Also because it kinda irritated me that you didn't say what I was eating." I began to think about what she said and after about a minute of silence, I slid the plate Into her view on the table. "Really?" She asked while looking at me hopefully.

"Knock yourself out, just don't freak out like last time." I said as I continued to consume my food.

"So, I looked at the stove, and I think it uses electricity somehow to generate the heat."

"Well, you aren't wrong."

"I just don't understand how it can heat up the pan without getting hot itself."

"I'll give you a hint, what happens when you push an electric current through wires with poor conduction properties?"

"Ummm… OH, it heats up! It uses Magnet fields to heat up the steel!" She shouted in glee.

"You've just discovered Electromagnetic induction heaters."

"OOH, can I use this for an Invention!?"

"Yeah go ahead, just be sure to credit me in it." I said nonchalantly. "But how are you going to market it, or mass produce it, OR make it commercially available and cost effective." As I said this, her smile faded. "Yeah, it's harder than it looks, so I suggest you just leave it be. On the other hand, I'm thinking of selling an engine design that would improve on what you guys use. But alas, I'm out of Ham. Back in a minute or two." I said while standing up from the table.

Once I had returned with more ham, I found Jacqueline staring at her empty plate with a blank expression. I figured she was just trying to figure out how to market the stove, so I let her be. I was about to take a bite of food when the intercom system started to play music out of it rather loudly.

"Sam, turn it off!" I yelled over the noise.

"It's not me! There, I lowered the volume but, I can't shut it off. Uh-oh, Sir FSD surge detected."

"Shit, Battle stations." I said, as all the white lights turned red and an alarm rang throughout the ship.


	15. Chapter 15: Fight for Survival

_Chapter Fifteen: Fight for survival_

 _War does not determine who is right, only who is left._

* * *

Once I had returned with more ham, I found Jacqueline staring at her empty plate with a blank expression. I figured she was just trying to figure out how to market the stove, so I let her be. I was about to take a bite of food when the intercom system started to play music rather loudly.

(The surface: Aviators)

"Sam, turn it off!" I yelled over the noise.

"It's not me... There, I lowered the volume, but I can't shut it off. Uh-oh, Sir FSD surge detected."

"Battle stations." All the white lights turned red and an alarm rang out, still muffled by the music. I left my food at the table and grabbed Jacqueline, who somehow hadn't noticed. "Get UP, and follow me!" I shouted, before darting out the door. We scrambled to the bridge and I sat in the Flight seat while Jacqueline sat to my left, quickly strapping herself in. Just as the ship started to lift off the ground, we were barraged by a flurry of laser fire, followed by an Imperial Cutter streaking overhead. Thankfully, the shields hadn't shut off and Sam had turned all power pips to systems.

The imperial Cutter consisted of an oval shape cylinder that ran down the length of the ship, ending in a slight spike at the back. Two swept wings protruded on each side from about the midpoint to the tail, which held thrusters at the wingtips. All of the features on the ship molded together in order to make the ship more ascetically appealing. As for the paint job, it was colored the signature Eggshell white with blue illuminated trim running around. In total, the cutter was just longer and wider than my Corvette, but not enough to make a massive difference.

"Sam, continue to automate pips!" I commanded while pressing the hard-points switch in front of me. Simultaneously, I boosted the engines to catch up to the Cutter. Once the hardpoints were deployed, two arcs popped up showing my primary and secondary weapons. On the right I had two beam lasers and two burst lasers, along with two point defense turrets. On the left Weapon arc, I had one Multi-cannon and two turreted pulse lasers.

I quickly locked the Cutter as my target and selected the power plant as my sub-target. _"Well Crawford, we meet in again."_ Was displayed through the messages box in the top left of the HUD.

"Who are you, Why would you attack my ship all the way out here?" I asked, which was translated into a message, then sent back.

" _I'm hurt, How could you have forgotten me. After all, you destroyed my entire planets population for your empire."_

"The hell are you talking about. I've never heard of you before. Not to mention, I don't have an empire."

" _Maybe this will remind you."_ Came through the transmission box just before the ship was hit by another barrage of attacks from behind us. I looked on the radar and cycled my target to see what the other ship was; Another Imperial Cutter.

I quickly re-selected the ship in front of me and opened fire with just the primary weapons, consisting of two class four gimballed Beam lasers, which fired directly over the cockpit. And two class two gimballed burst lasers which fired from each side of the ship. Immediately, the enemy ships' shields started to spark, and show a blue grid where my lasers where phasing right through. In effect of this, the ship started to take damage. Ninety percent, eighty percent, seventy percent, and finally the capacitors for the weapons had run out of power.

I was still taking fire from behind, so I looked over to my ships shields and noticed that they were almost depleted. I then flicked to the next fire group and activated a shield cell bank, which quickly recharged my shields to two and a half rings out of three.

While I was doing this, Sam had redirected some of the power from the engines to the weapons, allowing me to continue my attack. I opened fire on the Cutter in front of me with the orange beams of light, and the shields quickly dropped. I then opened fire with my secondary weapons as well, Two class one turreted pulse lasers with Phasing sequence, and a single class Three Multi-cannon with rapid fire. Though the Chain gun didn't seem that large compared to my ship, it was still a five barreled, 115 millimeter Gatling cannon. The reason I didn't just have something else in its place was due to land assault missions where I needed high explosive shells to take out infantry.

As I opened fire, the ship started to take massive amounts of hull damage, but my shields were once again depleted. I activated another shield cell bank and pointed skyward while retracting the hardpoints. Simultaneously, the pips that were on the weapons, switched to the engines, and I started to boost away while the Frame shift drive charged up.

" _Leaving so soon? I was just starting to have fun."_ Popped up on the message box. I ignored it while starting to do a continuous clockwise barrel roll to evade shots, which helped a fair amount. Once the FSD had charged, White streaks of light and a blue, transparent field temporarily enveloped us from entering orbital supercruise. I continued to fly away from the moon, in the direction of a large, ringed gas giant. Shortly after reaching the speed of light, two radar signatures popped up.

"Elliot." Jacqueline said in a concerned tone.

"Yeah I see it. Just shush for now."

I continued to accelerate toward The ball of gas, and once we were close, I prepared to drop into one of layered belts. Just before dropping out of supercruise, we were pulled into an interdiction field. The ship was surrounded in a mostly opaque blue tube, with the streaks of light passing by. In front of me was a circle that said _'Escape vector',_ as well as two half ovals with a blue and red bar on them, both evenly filled. I quickly aligned myself with the escape vector and the ship started to creak under the pressure of the interdiction field. Nevertheless, I kept my ship pointed at the correct position, and the blue bar started to creep up, while the red bar drained. Eventually, we broke free of the interdiction attempt and I realigned myself with the asteroid belt.

Once we had dropped into the belt, I flew directly within the asteroid field to hide from Alexs' ships. A few minutes went by and both of his ships dropped in, one being severely damaged and the other being painted a black semi-gloss instead of the standard white. I enabled the Pegasus drive and shortly after, the ship vanished. One of the cloaks main features was to be able to fire while staying invisible and off the radar, but at the cost of thermal gain. I watched the two ships hold position for a minute before beginning their search for me, without splitting up. This meant I would have to engage them together.

"What's you plan?" Jacqueline asked.

"Right now. I'm just trying to get the white ship out of action. Thank the lord I have phase sequencing."

"What's that?"

"It just means the lasers go right through shields at the cost of damage. Now shush, I need to think."

I continued to watch the ships search aimlessly for a few minutes as I maneuvered around them, eventually lining up behind the damaged ship. Just as my finger rested on the fire button, the black ship boosted into a 180 vertical spin to face me. "Shit." I hissed, just before opening fire on the white Cutter. Once I fired, Sam automatically disengaged the Pegasus drive, restoring my thermal discharge rate. I continued to fire into the ship until it was destroyed with a loud explosion and short lived fire ball. Just as it reached 0% hull integrity, I boosted deeper into the asteroid belt to escape the enemy fire. ' _You destroyed my drone, how rude. Such Darude, Such Darude.'_ Popped up in the messages box, which I promptly ignored.

"I know this is a _REEEEALLY_ bad time, but Sound doesn't go through the vacuum of space." Jacqueline commented.

"It's all simulated to give the pilot better situational awareness." I replied while thinking it was rather odd how she hadn't once seemed concerned for her life, but I didn't have time to think on it any longer. Our shields had failed and my power plant was hit by a class four plasma accelerator, disabling it.

"Power plant capacity exceeded, Thrusters offline, shields offline, oxygen backups enabled." Was said through the cockpit as a blue timer of twenty minutes counted down in the top right. The holographic display also started to malfunction by creating doubles and incorrect colors, making it hard to read anything.

' _Well I would like to stay and watch you suffocate, I have some animals to kill.'_ Popped up in the malfunctioning message box.

"Are we going to die?" Jacqueline asked.

"No..." I said back "You can't just leave us here to die." This time directed at the message box.

' _Of course I can, too-da-loo.'_ Came through as the ship sped away from mass-locked space. In about thirty seconds flat the ship was gone, leaving us gently floating through the asteroid belt.

"We are going to die, aren't we." Jacqueline said. I simply looked back with a somber expression as I unbuckled from my harness. Once I was free, I floated towards Jacqueline, who was looking out the window at the gas Giant to our left.

"It seems that way doesn't it. So what's the planet called?" I asked from above Jacquelines' chair. She snapped her head up at me for a few seconds before returning her gaze to the planet, which was about to rotate out of view.

"Pyrocian." She replied somberly while unbuckling from her seat. I nodded silently and looked over to the clock.

"Well, we have about twenty minutes to kill, anything you want to get off your chest?" I asked while floating slowly through the cabin, away from Jacqueline. I continued to float with my eyes closed, just enjoying the feeling of weightlessness.

(We are free: Gladiator) (Play on loop until I say so.)

"I guess I should tell you something about myself and why I met you." She said, now sounding closer to me than before.

"Okay." I replied.

"It was a bet." Jacqueline said in shame, as she reached eye level with me.

I started to chuckle slightly while I replied. "I too, have made many mistakes with the simple phrase 'Wanna bet?'."

"Yeah." Jacqueline replied quietly while holding onto the sides of my Rib cage. "But at least one good thing came out of it." She said while looking directly into my eyes. We continued our clockwise drift throughout the cabin in silence for a few seconds, simply staring back at each other.

"What would that be?" I asked, once again closing my eyes.

"I got to go to space."

"Yeah, I suppose you did." I said with a smile. We continued to spin for a few more seconds before I pulled Jacqueline into a tight hug, resting my head into her neck. She reciprocated my actions and rested her head into my shoulder while holding onto my back. Within seconds, I heard her start to whimper, slightly convulsing with each sob or sniffle.

"It's okay, I can make it quick and painless when the time comes." I cooed into her ear.

"That's n-not why I'm crying."

"Jacqueline, there's no shame in being afraid of death... The life of the dead are placed in the memory of the living. So don't fret, the only one to be forgotten is me." I said while holding on tighter.

"STOP IT. I'm not sad about dying, I just don't want you to die without getting to really live."

"Well don't feel sad…. Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it."

"Why are you getting all old and wise on me?" She asked with her head still buried into my shoulder, and vice versa.

"This is my true nature. I believe it is best to give others what they want to see and hear. After years of unwieldy conversation due to my intelligence, I dumbed down my speak for all likes of folk." I said, first with correct grammar and a proper accent, then with back-country counterparts.

"So, you don't act like what I've seen?" Jacqueline asked with a mixture of disappointment and pain.

"That would be correct. My thought process is much more cultivated than most… But hey, that doesn't matter anymore cuz we're going to die anyway." I answered, turning my voice back to the one Jacqueline had come accustomed to.

"No, don't do that. I want you to talk to me in the way you normally would."

"Hmm… Very well. Is there anything you wish to know about me? Evidently, classified information no longer applies to you and I." I said while reaching down to my shoes, activating the magnetic soles. Once they were on, we slowly started to descend to the floor.

"Y-you're so different now."

"Affirmative. As I said previously, most do not feel on the same level as me when I speak naturally. That is why you know me the way you do. Not the mastermind strategist, or interstellar traveler, but as the endearing ' _Spaceman'_ who doesn't get half of what you say…. On the other hand, I really don't understand some of it." I replied softly while looking at the timer tick down.

' _12:35...12:34…12:33'_

Just as we hit the floor, my shoes made a confirming click once they had fully seated to the steel. Jacqueline started to break down into a full on howl as I held her in my arms. "None o-of it was real."

"We both know that isn't true. I still love you, no matter if I perceive the world differently from you. Just because I don't speak with elementary words, does not mean my feelings aren't there. And that is what you must always remember…. _I Love You_. And _Nothing_ will take that emotion away."

"I l-love you too." She whimpered out, still crying into my shoulder. I continued to stand magnetized to the floor while I cradled Jacqueline. This left her hind paws dangling a few inches off the floor, not that it would matter due to micro-gravity allowing her to float. Once she stopped her crying, I started to scratch just behind one of her ears. In response, Jacqueline squeezed me tighter and nuzzled into my neck and shoulder.

"Are you sure we have to suffocate?"

"No, I would never allow that to take place. When you have had enough, I will end it in a way it will not hurt."

Once I said this, Jacqueline pushed herself away from me to arms length, holding onto my shoulders while she stared directly into my eyes. "No, if you're going to suffocate, then so am I."

"I was not planning to perish from asphyxiation. My plan is to use this arm to deliver a hundred amps directly to my brain stem."

"Oh." She mumbled with her ears slightly folded.

"This is exactly five-hundred times the fatal dose of current needed. Hence, 'W _ithout pain.'_ If it's acceptable to you, I would prefer to speak as I was when we met. I have used that type of speech for so long, nowadays it has become the standard way I verbalize words."

"You're _very_ weird... But I like it."

"That's not a yes or no."

"Yes, you can talk the other way. You soft, fur-less alien."

"Thanks. To both I think… Since you shared something with me, you should know about that thing that was ultra top secret."

"But I thought I was a security risk."

"Yeah a security risk that'll be alive for another..." I quickly glanced to the timer. "Eight minutes."

"I'm fine with not knowing. In fact, I kinda, sorta, wanted to show you something." She said bashfully.

"And what would that be?"

"Keep in mind that I would NEVER do this if we weren't going to die. I w-wante-"

"Let me stop you there. If you wouldn't do it under normal circumstances, then don't do it now. What if whatever you were going to say, we did. Then by some miracle, we survived this. That would change the way we looked at each other, right?"

"Oh, I uh, didn't think about that." She said shamefully while looking at the floor. "HEY, how are you on the floor!?"

"I have standard issue magnetic shoes. We kinda have to be able to get around quickly during combat." I said while walking around the room to show off the shoes.

"That would make sense… Um Elliot?"

"Yeah." I replied while looking at the suspended cat.

"I-I think I want to say it anyway. But first, could you come here."

"Naa, it'd be way to hard to come over there." I replied while looking out the window. Outside I could see the surroundings spin in and out of view, which meant we were moving at an uncontrolled vector.

"Elliot, please be serious about this."

"Oh, I didn't know it was that important." I replied while walking away from the window. Once I was within reach of Jacqueline, she pulled herself to the floor using me as her handhold.

"Look, this is really embarrassing to me. So please don't laugh or make jokes, ok?" She asked in a very serious tone, looking up the few inches needed to see my face.

"Of course." I answered back in an equally serious tone.

"Okay, since y-you haven't h-ha… sinceyouhaventhadsexyetimofferingittoyou."

"Umm, now normally no one would be able to understand what you said. But since I have an altered brain… I have to decline your offer. But thank you for it anyway."

"Now I feel worse about it." Jacqueline mumbled while looking down and to the right, along with her ears once again laid flat and tail slightly tucked. After a few seconds of deliberation, I grabbed her fluffy cheeks, and planted a heart-stopping kiss upon her. Once I retracted, I noticed that her ears were upright and she was completely dazed.

"There really isn't any need for that face. Now come here." I said with outstretched arms. After a few seconds, Jacqueline took my invitation by hugging around my waist. Shortly after, she wrapped her tail around both of my legs.

"You have an absurdly long tail." I whispered.

"It's longer than normal… almost four feet."

"That just makes you even more special." As I said this, Jacqueline tightened her grip with both arms and her tail. I mirrored her actions and squeezed tighter around her upper back while looking at the timer.

"Any last words?"

"Hmm?"

"One minute left." I said while watching the timer tick down.

"D-does it hurt?"

"Not a lot."

"… What happens after?" She asked while looking up at me.

"From what I've experienced. You walk around as a spirit for a few minutes, then walk down the cliché tunnel with a light at the end. As you walk down it, you feel a warmth like no other; But if you turn around... You will see another, much smaller light. That's mortality, if you choose to walk in that direction, you'll find it hard to breath, as if something's crushing your lungs. It'll become harder and harder to walk, until you collapse in pain, and if you keep crawling, the pain increases until it's unbearable… But if by some miracle you make it to the end, you'll get another chance."

"How do you know that?"

"I've died seven times, counting the three or four since coming here."

Shortly after finishing my sentence, we started to find it harder and harder to breath. Not an instantaneous lack of oxygen, Just a feeling if you were standing at a high elevation for the first time. As the timer ticked down to fifteen seconds, It was no longer a struggle to receive enough oxygen due to our bodies Co2 reflex not triggering. Instead, the O2 alarm tripped, dousing the room in red flashing light. Jacqueline was looking at me with a smile spread across her face and I couldn't help but smile back.

I held up my arm and arced electricity across my fingers to make sure I would end Jacqueline instantaneously. When I moved to put my arm by her brain stem, she stopped me.

"No, we...go...together." She whispered out, along with a few tears forming spheres on the ends of her fur. I stared into her eyes for what seemed like the longest time, and my vision started to tunnel, slowly creeping inward until my entire periphery was clouded by a darkening tunnel. Due to continuous breathing, I didn't feel as If we were dying, only a calming sensation of all my senses fading away. Sound, touch, and finally vision.

The world around me slowly darkened into an unending abyss. My memories slowly started to fade away and I desperately clung to the ones of Jacqueline. But in the end it was useless, I watched her face slowly fade from my memory until all that was left was a name. A name without a face to which I would never remember.

Jacqueline, the one who re-ignited the life in my body. The one who loved me when I couldn't love myself... The one that I would want to spend the rest of my life with, whether it was one day, or a millennia. Jacqueline, the woman that I got killed in a ludicrous war between two astral beings.

So if this is the end, I'm glad it was with the one I loved. My name is Elliot Crawford, and this Is where my story ends.

.

.

Or so I thought.


	16. Chapter 16: The Attacks

_Chapter Sixteen: The Attacks_

 _Be careful what you tell people. The friend today could be your enemy tomorrow._

* * *

(Federation controlled space)

The massive congressional room of the Federation was currently bustling with activity. Normally the facility was only used once a year in December, but President Edwin Stanton called for an emergency meeting in the Federation capitol, which is located on the Terraformed Mars. As more and more congressmen and women trickled into the blue themed room, they were seated in order of location in space within the layered half circle that surrounded the central podium; This is where the president sits. Behind the central podium was a massive Federation flag hanging down. In the center of the flag laid a four point star, which had several planets orbiting it. On the outside of the planets were several different sized five point stars, once again orbiting the central star. The colors of the design were a simple silver on gloss black.

Once everyone had found their respective seats and checked in, president Stanton took his seat.

"This court is now in session." Came from the central podium amongst the hundreds of seated dignitaries within the housing of the federal congress. "Let us address the first and foremost issue presented to us, as well as other allies within the galaxy... We now have over four-hundred confirmed star systems wiped of all human life within the last three weeks."

Instantly, the large room was filled with the sounds of murmuring among the counsel members. The murmuring eventually grew into full out argument as the members bickered amongst themselves.

"Order in the council!" Bellowed throughout the auditorium, and within seconds the room was dead silent. "Now, has anyone been able to identify the cause of these attacks?" Stanton waited for few seconds with no response besides a few whispers. "No one knows anything!?"

The court once again started to whisper among themselves for a short time. "Actually sir, we may have a theory." Came from the loud speakers mounted by the ceiling.

"Very well, please rise and state your system for the court."

"Kepler forty-seven." All attention was turned to the large holoprojector that had broadcasted the male dignitaries face above the center podium. "We believe that this is a new form of Thargoid weapon, similar to the one we used to destroy their organic ships in the past."

"That's preposterous, we settled our disagreements hundreds of years ago." Came from another section across the room.

"QUIET... Kepler forty-seven, please continue."

"That was actually about it. We think they're using a Bio-weapon with an effective range of an entire system." Once the man finished his systems' theory, He sat down.

"We May Have something to add to that." Came from a section towards the center of the room.

"Please rise and identify." The president replied.

"Wolf ten-sixty-one, Mister president." Said the female as she stood in front of her seat. Once again, the holoprojector broadcasted her face so that everyone could see. "I request that all recording devices be terminated at this time, as well as the EM shield be raised. The following information is highly classified."

"This better be worth it Wolf." a different man at the center podium replied before flicking a few switches in front of him. The lights illuminating the room dimmed for several seconds while a muffled spooling sound was emitted. "Continue, the EM field is active and all recordings have been terminated."

"Sir Are you Aware of the Crawford Admirals?"

"Yes, but what does this have to do with our current situation."

"Officially, Admiral Elliot Crawford, deceased in 3318. Admiral Judith Crawford, deceased in 3324."

"I am fully aware of this Wolf. Get to the point." President Stanton replied with hints of impatience.

"Almost there sir. Elliot Crawford didn't die, he was taken P.O.W for five years. In that time we developed A wormhole generator that would have allowed us to retrieve him. Codename, New horizon."

"Are you saying that we have an ADMIRAL that's being tortured as we speak?" The president asked with infuriation.

"No sir, before we could finish the device, Admiral Crawford… the other one, found his location and rescued him. We continued the construction of the weapon and completed it. _This_ is the bad part, We sent Admiral Crawford, the man, through the wormhole to a planet across the galaxy. We may think that it was a Thargoid planet sir."

Within seconds, the courtroom was drowned with the sounds of more murmuring.

"Quiet... Is that all Wolf?"

"Unfortunately, no. We sent one of our prototype communications systems with him to keep in contact with us. it's been fourteen days since his last message, well past the designated time."

"I'm no communications expert-" came from just a few seats away from the wolf 1061 governor. "But I do believe that radio waves take time to transmit, how far away is the Admiral?"

"The planet's forty-five thousand light years away. Normally that would take, _forty-five thousand years_. But we've developed a quantum entanglement communications device that would enable to talk with anyone instantaneously, anywhere in the universe. He successfully sent us a message two hours after walking through the portal, so we know he made it there, and the device works."

"So let me get this straight, your system has been developing numerous unauthorized weapons. Is anyone else doing this?" The president asked. As he looked around the room, numerous hands shot up in admittance. Stanton then let out a long sigh as he face palmed. "I hope all of you aren't making plans, because we're going to be here a while. Let's start off with hmmm, weapons; Every system that's developed, or is developing weapons without letting the council know, raise your right hand."

Nearly eight hands reluctantly shot up.

"let's start with you." Stanton said while pointing at a female governor.

"Proxima Centauri sir. We're developing a new assault craft. it's a one-hundred meter long scorpion."

"Seriously." He replied while raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, it's proven very effective in our tests. It can reach speeds of up to one-hundred meters per seconds on rough terrain. In addition to this, it's able to jump up to two-hundred meters with a running start."

The president was now sitting in a daze, no one had ever come close to making such a walker before. Sure there were smaller, ' _Pack haulers'_ that could reach twenty-five, maybe thirty kilometers per hour, but never something such as this.

"Okay, how about you." Stanton said, pointing towards the very back of the room.

"Gliese eight seven six, Mister president. "We've created and used a type of weapon that brings any solid substance to critical mass. The last time it was used in battle caused the Apollyon disaster."

After a few seconds of realization, Stantons' face changed to one of horror "Mother… of… God."

"Admiral Elliot Crawfords' Ship, the FNS Damocles housed this weapon. After the disaster, He refused to use it again. That is all." With that, the governor of Gliese 876 re-took his seat.

The entire congress room went dead silent, par for a cough every now and then. Every single congressman and women was in deep thought from learning this new information; Many minutes went by with the occasional sneeze, cough, or chair creaking from someone re-adjusting themselves in their seat.

"Can you make another one?" Came from Kepler 47s' Congressman. The entire room shifted it's gaze to the congressman. "What if it really is the Thargoids, this might give us a fighting chance." He said.

After a few seconds of deliberation, the congresswoman replied. "We _can_ make another one, but the only known entity that houses the designs refuses to give them up." Gliese 876 replied.

"Who is it?" The president asked in a hoarse tone.

"SATCOM. that's all we know. An entity known as Satcom stole the designs, and wiped the hard drives. We've been looking into it for fourteen years and haven't found a trace of anything."

President Stanton Simply nodded slowly in deep thought as what to say next. Just as he was going to reply, someone else spoke up.

"ACTUALLY, I might be able to shed some light on that." Came from one of the Sol governors.

"Bill, what the hell are you talking about." Stanton hissed while blocking the microphone.

"Satcom is an artificial intelligence we developed for the next generation of fleet Admirals. Although we only produced two fully functional admirals for the program."

"Okay, what the hell. I don't care if I'm the president. What The Fucking hell…. I swear it's days like this I wish I didn't run for president." Stanton said while repeatedly hitting his head on the table in frustration.

-==20 hours later==-

"I think we can call this meeting adjourned, unless we have another project for invincible troops or giant robots."

"I have something Mister president."

"I swear if it's not life or death, I will strangle whoever just said that." Stanton replied in an exhausted voice.

"Never mind."

"Then I pronounce this Congressional session, adjourned." **Bang Bang Bang.** Shot through the room from the president hitting his wooden hammer on the small wafer that accompanied it. Slowly but surely, the hundreds of exhausted congressmen and women shuffled outside to their respective shuttles and ships.

Once the President Stanton boarded his private beluga liner, the ship took off in the direction of his private battlecruiser. Stanton made his way to the master bedroom where he hoped to take a small nap before reaching home, which was on the other side of Mars. "Ugh, there like a bunch of school girls, hiding secrets by the droves." He mumbled while removing the red tie from his neck. Once the President was in just his white undershirt and boxers, he laid down in bed.

"That was quit the meeting I'd say." A female voice said from across the room.

"Huh, Who the hell are you, Security!" President Stanton yelled.

"Oh they won't be joining us, I've made sure of that. Don't worry though, I'm not here to harm you."

"… What do you want from me?" He asked while trying to turn on a light in the currently dark room.

"The senator was right, The Thargoids are invading Human space, this time with nothing to stand in their way. All three major factions are experiencing the same thing. You need to contact the Empire and set up a meeting."

"Ha ha ha, like hell. Even if I were to believe you, which I don't by the way, what makes you think the Empire would want to meet with us, We're a WAR."

"I've already spoken to Aisling Duval, She agrees with me. The current problem is much bigger than our differences, and we need to come up with a force large enough to push back the Invading enemy."

"Bullshit. No one gets within a hundred meters of that she witch."

"Normally yes, that is true. But when you invented something such as the Recovery stimulation kit, you tend to earn a reputation. Even among enemies." The woman said while clicking on a light so that Stanton could see her. Once his eyes adjusted, he could clearly make out a black Multicam suit and some sort of backpack, which matched in color. The woman proceeded to stand up and walk over to the bed where he was now sitting upright.

 **Bang bang bang**

Three shots rang out of the president's pistol, directly at the intruders chest. "Well, that isn't very considerate now is it." The woman replied with a tilted head.

"What the hell?"

"Very expensive armor you see. Only given to the most of important people, even more important that you Mister President… flexible and soft, yet able to stop a thirty millimeter round dead in its tracks without the wearer feeling the kinetic impact. The perfect armor."

"Well, I'm going to die now, aren't I?" He asked in a glum tone while setting the empty pistol on the nightstand. The woman simply looked at him for a few seconds before walking back across the room to her original seat.

"Like I stated earlier, I'm not here to cause you any harm."

"Well, at least tell me who you are." He said while standing up from the bed, eventually sitting down in an adjacent seat to the woman.

"That's classified Edwin. You can call me Satcom for the time being." She commented while crossing a leg over the other.

"You, you stole the data for the Molecular thing-ah-mah-doo-hicker." Stanton said while pointing an accusing finger at Satcom.

"Technically no, I didn't take anything. That would be my husband. But we share the same interests, to keep unnecessary technology out of the hands of the unworthy."

"And you're so much more worthy that us, you must be quite naive." Edwin said.

"We are not worthy either. That is why I leave it in a safe place, away from all living things so that nothing can ever use its destructive capabilities again. But alas, we are moving off the tracks of this meeting; You must meet with Aisling or all of humanity could be at risk."

"And like I said before, you must be crazy if you think they want to meet with the Federation."

"Very well, you leave me to choice… Sergeant, bring us to the Erebus, we're going to take the president to see Duval"

"Wait wait wait. You mean the Farragut Battle Cruiser Erebus, the one lost in space three years ago."

"Affirmative."

"How did you get it!?"

"It was mine all along." She replied with a smile.

"Okay… Okay, I'll try to set up a meeting with the empire, but I still don't think It'll work."

"Then I'll make it work."

"..."

Several minutes went by in total silence while the woman known as Satcom stared off into her mind. Meanwhile president Stanton was desperately trying to get the beacon in his molar to turn on.

"That won't work ya-know. My computer system's blocking all signals leaving the ship that could be used as communication of your situation."

"What are you talking about, I'm just sitting here."

"Very back molar on the right side."

"… Shit. How do you know about all that?"

"I designed half of it. Robotic arms, new methods for cloning organs, bioluminescent plants."

" _Sigh,_ You couldn't have possible invented the plant. we've had those for hundreds of years." Stanton commented back.

"I made a rave plant. It can color cycle the rainbow."

"That seems rather pointless."

"Entirely, but people want what people want."

"Yeah I suppose" He replied while looking at the Woman. Upon further scrutiny, he found she had short blonde hair as well as green eyes. Not much else could be gathered due to her combat suit covering everything but her head.

"Ya-know, it's considered rude to stare at a woman like that." Satcom said while standing up and walking over to a liquor cabinet.

"Sorry, it's just that one of the governors mentioned an armor and backpack like the one you have. He said only two were produced. But what I don't see is the helmet that accompanies it."

"This is true, the helmet's over there if you'd like to see it." She replied while pointing to the coat rack by the door. Sure enough, there was a black Multicam helmet hanging on it. After a few seconds of deliberation, Stanton stood up and padded to the helmet, but instead of looking at it, he made a dash for the door nearby.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Nevertheless, he opened the door and ran out, only to be dragged in seconds later by a man wearing strength enhancing armor, as well as carrying a suppressed carbine. "Loose something Ma'am?" He quipped while ushering the president away from the door.

"Thank you corporal. Edwin Stanton, don't you know it's rude to leave a guest like that?"

The president simply sat down In his seat with a sigh, once again studying the woman that had somehow effortlessly captured one of the most protected men in the galaxy.

"Well when you put it like that, would you like a drink? You've been looking at my Scotch collection for awhile now."

"I'm quite alright, Firstly because I'm sure you'll try to poison it, and second, because I don't drink." She said while sitting next to Stanton.

"Man, I really need to get some more training for situations like this."

"It wouldn't have mattered, I'm one of the best strategists in the galaxy, and with the help of my computer, almost unstoppable." Satcom said, once again crossing her leg over the other. She then began to speak in an unknown language to Stanton.

"Sam chróno ektímisi ton dynámeon asfaleías proédron. Epísis prep moíres éna éos téssera gia tin katástasi."

"What language is that?" He asked with large amounts of curiosity.

"It's classified... Were almost at the H.D.F Erebus. Prepare for microgravity." She said while pressing a few buttons on the display mounted to her left arm.

"Crap." Stanton replied, instantly starting to search for his magnetic shoes. "What do you mean HDF Erebus, it's The FNS Erebus." He said, still looking for the shoes.

"Indeed it _was_ the Federal navy ship, now it's part of the newly formed Human defense force. Which I hope to get you to join along with Aisling, and the Alliance."

Stanton remained silent while he continued to look for his shoes, no no avail. The ship left the gravitational pull of Mars and the president started to float aimlessly throughout the room. Satcom eventually stood up and pulled Stanton to the floor by the ankle.

"looking for these." She said with a smirk while holding up the black magnetic shoes.

"Can I have them please?" He asked with an unamused expression.

"I don't know, CAN you?"

" _Sigh_ … May I have them?"

"Affirmative." She answered while handing him the shoes. Once Stanton had the shoes on his feet, he pressed the actuator on the tongues of the shoes.

"What did you do to them, they won't turn on."

"Batteries cost extra."

* * *

-==Fifteen minutes later==-

President Stanton was being lead throughout the massive interior of HDF Erebus by Satcom. They had walked up ten stories and what seemed like miles of corridors, but Satcom seemed unfazed by the maze of passageways.

"Where are we going?"

"To your quarters for the next few weeks… annnnd here we are." She said gesturing to a door labeled PQ-1528. Once the door opened, she motioned for Stanton to walk in.

The _room_ was more like a glorified closet, about fifteen feet long and eight feet wide with just a small cot sized bed in the corner towards the far side of the room, if you could even call it the far side. Adjacent to the bed laid a desk with nothing on it, but at least the room was clean, just like the rest of the ship.

"Man this sucks."

"Well if you have good behavior, you might get a larger cell room."

"Well, what do I get for meals?" He asked, now sitting on the tiny bed.

"You will receive two meals a day consisting of the needed nutrients."

Stanton briefly nodded his head in understanding. "So are you really her?"

Satcom let out a small chuckle before replying. "There's a lot of hers in the galaxy, care to be more specific."

"You won't say anyway, will you."

"..."

"Well, I suppose it could be much worse. But before you go, how did nobody notice this ship just sitting up here?"

"That would be because it's not there." Satcom replied before shutting the pneumatic door with a hiss. She then started walking down the dreary corridors of the Battle cruiser, which were laden with exposed pipes and semi exposed electrical cables.

"Pull all patrol squadrons back to the ship, were leaving." Satcom said.

"Yes Ma'am… Be advised the FNS Neptune has entered orbit around Mars." Was replied directly into Satcoms head.

"Open the intercom... All Hands, general quarters. FNS Neptune detected in geosynchronous orbit around Mars. All pilots to your fighters, prepare for launch."

Within seconds the ships white lights turned red as thousands of battle hardened men and women worked in perfect cohesion with one another to ready the HDF Erebus for battle. Satcoms' walk had turned into a full blown sprint as she made her way to the Combat information center, which was buried deep within the ships' hull. By this time, she had put on the helmet that accompanied her combat armor.

"Ma'am, once we start the Witch space drive, we'll lose the ability to cloak." Was once again said into Satcoms' Head.

"I know, Just do it. Intercom… All hands be advised, We're starting the witch space drive; We'll lose our quantum refraction shortly." She said.

Once Satcom had reached the CIC, she found all officers Slaving away on their respective control stations. In the center of the rounded room was a 3D hologram projecting the surrounding area with her ship in the center.

"Capital class signature detected." Was sounded through the room, immediately the dozens of high ranking officers started relaying orders without the need for guidance.

"Ma'am, they're hailing us."

"Put them through." Satcom answered.

"Unidentified Farragut battle cruiser, retract your weapons and surrender the President immediately." Said a man on the other the ship, which was positioned parallel to Satcoms' ship.

"Federal Navy ship Neptune. You are outmatched and outgunned, if you value the lives of your crew, Withdraw immediately." Satcom replied.

"… Brenner?" He replied after a few seconds.

"Hello John." She said coldly.

"Shit." John muttered back. "You have thirty seconds to surrender." He replied as two more Farragut battle cruisers came out of hyperspace.

"Starflight One, reporting in."

"Spaceflight One, reporting in."

"I'm sorry to do this John, but the fate of Humanity rests on Stanton and Duval forming an alliance. So if you do not Withdraw, I will be forced to destroy you."

"… You know I can't do that."

"Two Capital class signatures detected." Rang through the Combat information center of Stacoms' ship in a female English accent. Seconds later, two Majestic class interdictors appeared on the 3D radar in parallel positions a few kilometers away from the HDF Erebus. There were now six capital class ships forming two parallel lines through space.

On the Federation side, there was Starflight One, a modified Farragut battle cruiser that the president was to rendezvous with, taking up the rear of the federation battle line. In the middle rested the FNS Neptune, the Battlecruiser assigned to guard Earth. And in the front was Spaceflight One, the backup Battlecruiser for the president in case Starflight One was unavailable.

On the HDF/Empire side laid the Imperial navy vessel (INV) Replicator, taking up the rear. The HDF Erebus taking up the center, and the INV Imperial freedom taking up the front.

"Brenner. What the hell did you do!?"

"I'm securing the future of humanity." She replied.

"Nice to see you again Admiral. Didn't think we'd be on the same side however. But I will try my best to honor Emperor Duvals' orders. The INV Replicator and Imperial Freedom are at your disposal. What are your orders, Admiral." Was said through the ships' bridge by an English accented man.

"INV Replicator reporting in."

"Admiral Patrius, nice to see you as well. For now hold fire, if they open fire. _Do not_ launch your fighters, I have that covered. Just use the rail drivers and Modular interceptor guns. How copy?"

"INV copies all." Was replied. The next few seconds were spent in tense silence while The computer system aboard the Erebus continued to micro manage the entire ship, preparing the weapons, fighters, damage crews, etcetera.

"Ma'am, all fighter squadrons are ready to launch." One of the Officers in the room stated.

"Copy lieutenant... Battle stations."

 **bannnt bannnt bannnt**

Now the red lights were accompanied with an alarm signaling imminent combat. The Large blast door to the Combat information center sealed with several large clicks, signifying that the large locking pins had secured the door in place. Satcom was still looking at the orange holographic radar which was displaying all six ships in two large lines across space.

"Admiral, prepare to engage."

"Yes ma'am." He replied.

"So this is what it comes to Brenner, you're defecting to the Empire after we raised you." John said though the communications channel.

"Yes after you raised me, betrayed my husband, left me for dead, then disavowed the entire crew of this ship. So yes John, I don't care for the Federation anymore. But to answer your question, I plan to unify the entire Human race under one banner. The Human defense force. You can join me if you wish, but you will have to come now and without notice."

"… What happened to you?"

"Time has happened, I'm no longer a slave to the federation war machine or its corporation controlled senate. I will rid the galaxy of all corruption, slavery, starvation, and war. With or without you."

"Well said Admiral." Admiral Patrius replied. "I would like join your Human defense force if you will take my allegiance."

"I too wish to join the Human defense force Admiral. INV Replicator at your service." Said the captain from the other Imperial ship.

"John, what's it going to be?" Satcom asked.

"I'm sorry it has come to this. Open fire!" Came through just as John terminated the transmission. Within seconds, hundreds of shells were being directed to the HDF ships by the Farragut battle cruisers. The HDF returned fire, sending massive rail driver rounds into the federation ships. Blue beams of light could be seen where the rail drivers had fired due to the Cobalt rods being fired, burning from the heat for the magnetic fields used to accelerate them. The HDF Erebus had opened fire with its massive 1,000 millimeter auto cannons, which were identical to the federation cannons. In addition to this, they started to fire the lock on 1,400 millimeter torpedo tubes into Spaceflight One. Hundreds of torpedoes fired from both sides of the ship locked onto the engines of Spaceflight One, and were speeding towards it. The federation ships did their best to shoot down the torpedoes with the class three turreted pulse lasers, which were poisoned around the ships, but Satcom had her ship target the point defense turrets, rendering them innate.

"INV replicator, Move to grid C-4, elevation grid five. Get on top of Starflight One and open fire into the hangers. INV Imperial freedom, Merge fire on Spaceflight One."

"Copy Admiral repositioning INV Replicator."

"Lieutenant, launch all fighters. Prioritize enemy fighters, and once they're destroyed, aim for the communications relays."

"Yes ma'am" The female lieutenant replied before continuing her work. Within seconds, dozens of f-36 squadrons poured out of the HDF Erebus's hanger bays, consisting of hundreds upon hundreds of prototype fighters.

Satcom returned her gaze to the holographic map, where she could see INV Replicator performing a Massive barrel roll to aim the Rail drivers right down the middle of the hangers on Starflight one, which were normally protected by the two forks that protruded from the middle of the ship to the front. INV Imperial freedom had shifted all its fire to Spaceflight One, and the torpedoes fired from HDF Erebus were about to impact the engines of Spaceflight One. Meanwhile, the veteran fighter crews of the HDF Erebus were slaughtering the federation fighters even though they were outnumbered three to one. The holographic projector showed every single fighter's position in the battle, in real time, allowing precise control of the battle.

"Admiral, your torpedoes have impacted Spaceflight One, Escape pods are firing. Shall we continue to engage them?" Admiral Paterus asked.

"Negative, shift fire to the FNS Neptune. Prioritize the main cannons." She replied.

"Ma'am federal security forces have dropped in. two dozen detected." The ships' computer relayed into the CIC.

"Re-prioritize fighters, target and destroy those Corvettes." She ordered and Within seconds, the hundreds of experimental F-36 condors had made a Beeline for the Corvettes, which dropped in on the far side of the Farragut Battle cruisers.

"Admiral, are you sure you don't want us to launch fighters. We see large amounts of super-heavy fighters on the far side of the FNS Neptune."

"I'm sure Admiral, My fighters are special you see. they're almost equivalent to the Vulture superiority fighter."

"Copy Admiral, continuing attack on the FNS Neptune."

By this point, Starflight One was a burning wreck in space, and Spaceflight Ones' hangar bay was in tatters. The FNS Neptune was holding its own however, the crew aboard it was experienced and determined to Federal corvettes that had dropped in were nearing attack range, and the F-36 squadrons were in a four pronged pincer position. Rail and auto-cannon fire had not ceased between the now five ships, and the FNS Neptune was readying its torpedo tubes. They didn't have the lock on torpedoes like the HDF Erebus, but nevertheless, they still posed a massive threat to any ship unlucky enough to get hit by them.

"INV Imperial freedom, target all Modular interceptor guns on the torpedo tubes aboard the Neptune."

"Yes Admiral."

The dozens of small pinkish purple spheres of condensed plasma were quickly focused towards the FNS Neptunes' torpedo pylons, but it was too late. Nearly one-hundred and thirty 1,400 millimeter torpedoes were headed to the HDF Erebus. Without intervention, both the INV Imperial Freedom and INV Replicator targeted the torpedoes with their Modular interceptor guns, sending hundreds upon hundreds of the pink balls of plasma at the cruise missile sized torpedoes. The HDF Erebus had also re-targeted all weapons at the missiles, sending class three pulse laser fire and thousand millimeter cannon fire at them. The missiles were quickly whittled down, but a few still impacted the heavily angled armor of the Farragut battle cruisers top.

"Status report."

"Negative on effect, heavy damage to the armor plating but no effect to our inner hull."

Now that the crisis had been averted, mostly. Satcom returned her attention to the fighters that were just on the other side of the Neptune. The experimental f-36 condors were quickly overwhelming the Corvettes with as many as twelve on one. The Corvettes on the other hand were having a very hard time hitting any of the battle hardened fighter pilots, and when they did, very little damage was done to the shields; Which normally would have been taken down in milliseconds. The fighters continued their merciless attack, reducing the formidable support group to hunks of scrap within a minute or two.

Once the F-36's had finished off the Corvettes, they returned to swarm the FNS Neptunes' massive central communications system. But before the Fighters could get to the enemy capital ship, it started up the witch space drive, quickly exiting the battlefield along with Spaceflight One; They both made a large cloud of dark purple and black in front of the nose while accelerating, then simply disappeared as the ships moved forward into their respective clouds of portal.

"Well done Admiral, may this be the first of many victories for the HDF." Admiral Paterus said enthusiastically.

"I agree, but I think it would be wise to leave now." The captain of the INV Replicator added.

"Yes Prepare for Frame shift travel. Oh I never got your name INV Replicator?" Satcom asked while motioning the fighter command officers to withdraw all forces.

"Captain Canus Asprenas, at your service." He said in an English accent.

Once all the F-36 condor squadrons had returned, the HDF Erebus started to charge its Witch space drive.

"Set destination for Wolf One zero Six One Dash C. I need to pick up a few things." Satcom said.

"Copy Admiral; INV Replicator standing by." Captain Asprenas replied.

"INV Imperial freedom standing by. Whenever you're ready Admiral." Admiral Paterus said.

"Engage frameshift drives." She ordered. Within seconds, three purple and black clouds filled with lightning formed in front of each ship, which disappeared as they accelerated into the clouds.

* * *

-= Wolf 1061-C =-

"Has there been any transmissions from Crawford yet?" The old U.N.S.E Director asked one of the technicians that was standing in front of the receiver for Elliots' Quantum entanglement communications pod.

"No sir. We could send a message back though, just to see if he forgot." The technician replied.

"… I was wanting to avoid this… but go ahead."

The technician quickly navigated through the console of the communications drive, which was identical to the one Elliot took with him; Only this one didn't fire a class four beam laser every time you sent a message. Just as the technician was about to press the record message button, a loud alarm rang throughout the large underground bunker, which also housed the Wormhole generator and a few of the Large 100 meter long robotic assault scorpions.

"All hands to defense stations. Imperial capital ships detected. I repeat, all hands to defense stations." Rang throughout the entire military base. Above ground, hundreds of soldiers were scrambling to their respective posts; Anti air lasers, interceptor class APC's which consisted of eight massive wheels and dual class two railguns on the central turret, which can angle up to 50 degrees. In addition to this, several f-36 condor squadrons were quickly scrambled.

The three capital ships had dropped into a three pronged formation on one side of the military base. The INV Imperial freedom had dropped in on the left side, the HDF Erebus was in the center, and the INV Replicator was to the right. They had not opened fire due to the sensitivity of the equipment below ground. Instead, they launched ground assault forces, consisting of a few thousand imperial assault clones, and a few hundred HDF infiltration soldiers. In addition to the men on the ground, Satcom had the imperial ships launch fighters in a bombardment pattern to provide close air support when needed.

The military base assigned with guarding the prototype technology was being quickly overwhelmed by the genetically superior Imperials soldiers. They had been cloned for specific tasks by the empire, most standing five foot eleven. The assault clones were the exception, standing almost eight feet tall.

"ICT company six, move to the main gate, take out those mobile Railguns. ICT company eight, ten, and twelve, move to the static triple A emplacements. All other ICT Soldiers keep the pressure on. we've almost broken their lines." Satcom said.

Just as ICT company six reached the main gate, they were ambushed by one of the prototype Scorpion assault drones created by Proxima Centauri. The company quickly returned fire, and within seconds, a ATGM was launched at the drone. Upon impact, a blue field rippled around the craft.

"ICT Company Six, Requesting immediate CAS to our location. Target is a large legged drone, be advised, it has magnetic deflectors as well as advanced maneuvering capabilities."

"Copy ICT Six, ICP Wing five coming in for a gun run."

Shortly after relaying this message, four imperial fighters could be seen streaking towards the massive scorpion drone.

 **BRRRRRRRNNNNTTT**

The Assault drone had spotted the fighters and opened fire with its massive class three multi-cannon, mounted to where the stinger would be on a scorpion. Nevertheless, the imperial fighters continued their dive opening fire with their small beam lasers. The drone in response, jumped 150 feet to the right, avoiding most of the laser fire, while continuing to perfectly lead the fighters with its 117mm, tail mounted auto cannon.

"THIS IS ICP WING FIVE, TAKING HEAV-" the pilot was unable to finish his sentence due to the reactor aboard the ship detonating. In addition to this, the scorpion jumped into the air, catching another imperial fighter with its two front legs.

"Admiral, it appears that the federation have made some new toys. Orders?" Captain Asprenas asked.

"I have it under control Captain." She replied while continuing to expertly direct all forces in the battlefield. "Gain control of the assault drones." She ordered to the ships' computer.

Meanwhile, The HDF Infiltration forces had made it to the hospital where the elevator for the underground bunker was hidden. The HDF forces were quickly clearing the entire hospital without making any more than a few puffs from the occasional shot through their suppressed Ar-335s (Honey badger)

Once the section of soldiers had made it down the elevator, they began their real mission.

"Find Anything on Crawford, and look for the Communications drive." The section leader commanded in a hushed yell. The soldiers answered before splitting into predesignated two man teams in order to cover more ground.

Meanwhile above ground, the scorpion assault drones were wreaking havoc on the Imperial assault forces. The scorpion that ambushed Company six, which was in charge of taking out the mobile Railguns by the main gate; Had completely halted their advance by jumping back and forth between cover locations, forcing the ICTs to constantly change cover.

"ICT Company six, requesting danger close rail driver fire."

"We hear you loud and clear ICT Six, standby." Someone replied on the other end of the radio.

"Admiral, Multiple ICT Companies are requesting rail fire upon the prototype drones. They've completely halted our advance." Captain Asprenas said.

"If you miss, so help me. I'll skin you alive."

"Don't doubt it Admiral… Attention rail driver GFCS Operators, Target the prototype drones. Only fire when you have a guaranteed hit."

"Copy captain."

The INV Replicators three rail driver cannons turned to the left 35 degrees to shoot at the scorpion drones, and shortly after, they fired. Creating three large blue beams. The rail drivers didn't do anything, simply being stopped by the shields aboard the assault drones. Once the first three rail drivers had been shot, the Interceptor APC's started to fire at the imperial rail drivers.

"Switch fire to the Mobile assault APC's, I'll deal with the scorpions." Satcom ordered before leaving the CIC Room. She started another full sprint to the hanger bays, which were at the closest, almost a quarter mile away. Once she reached the hangers, two black Multicam wings unfurled from her backpack, and she flew through the airlock, immediately reaching supersonic speeds. Satcom then beelined for company six, dodging the occasional triple A fire, and once she was within a hundred meters, she realized it was too late. The Scorpion had efficiently eliminated the 250 Imperial Clone troopers, and was searching the area for survivors.

Satcom engaged the QRF (Quantum refraction field) in her pack, and headed for the top of the drone. Upon landing, the drone didn't seem to notice, so she quickly deployed the twin retinal tracking beam lasers from her back and aimed them at an armor gap by the head of the drone, which housed some of the sensor arrays. Since she was directly on the craft, the shields wouldn't be able to stop the lasers.

In a split second, the head was cut off by the lasers and the drone reacted by firing the tail mounted chain gun at Satcom. She had anticipated this, quickly launching from the top just as the cannon spooled up. Nevertheless, the scorpion drone fired right into its back, finishing itself off.

"Be advised, the head of the drone is its weak spot."

"Thanks for the heads up Admiral." ICT Company seven replied.

"Hey boss, we found the things you wanted. Relaying the directions to your hud now." The HDF section leader said through a channel only they could hear.

"On my way, ETA one mike."

With that, Satcom flew just a few meters above the ground through the military base while the QRF was still active.

"Where the hell is she?" One of the HDF Soldiers in charge of guarding the main door asked.

"How should I know, Dunn said one minute, but it's been three." A female soldier replied.

"Excuse me-" Was said behind the two soldiers, who instantly whipped their rifles around. "But where might I find the special forces suppose to be guarding the door, because you most certainly can't be them." Satcom said with a smirk under her G-suits helmet, which was identical to Elliots'.

"Dammit, how the hell did you do that?" The male soldier asked in relief while lowering his rifle.

"QRF field. Where's the stairs?" Satcom asked.

"No stairs just an elevator… Ma'am." He replied.

"Yeah, whatever. Where is it?"

"Just down the hall, right there." The female soldier said while pointing to an opened elevator shaft at the end of the white hall.

"K, thanks." She replied while jogging away.

"IDIOT." The female soldier said while smacking the back of the mans' helmet.

"Whhhhaaaatt?" He whined back.

"Just watch the door before I decide to wreck you."

"Oh, by all means Specialist Evilyn, come and get it." He replied coquettishly.

"First, it's Hawkins to you. Second, you better be careful Dotson, I might just order you to give my boobs a massage while you wear nothing but a Santa hat."

"So that's what does it for you huh, naked men wearing Santa hats. I'll be sure to get you one for Christmas." Dotson replied with a chuckle.

"Oh shut up."

Meanwhile, Satcom had just reached the bottom of the elevator, and several soldiers were waiting. They lead her to the center of the facility where several engineers had been rounded up along with some federation soldiers. Just a few meters away from the prisoners rested a 100 foot circle with a loading ramp on one side.

"What's it?" She asked.

"We're not sure. They obviously know, but won't say anything other than the occasional fuck you, or go to hell." The Section leader replied while gesturing to the group of prisoners.

Satcom nodded in understanding, before saying "I got this." while walking to the assemblage.

"You won't get anything out of us." One of the engineers said with spite.

"Oh I think I will." She replied while unfastening her helmet. Once she pulled it off, several eyes widened and a few quiet gasps were heard.

"Now, I don't want to torture anyone, but I will if I have to. Now, what is this, and where did you take Crawf-"

"Incoming Message." Came from the Quantum entanglement communications pod.

"Mayday, mayday. This is the federal Exploratory expedition Alpha. We've sustained heavy damage and the crew is running out of oxygen. We're located in one of the belts of the sixth planet in the system, the power plant is disabled and were venting oxygen. System name is follows-"

Instantly Satcom snapped her fingers and pointed to the section leader, then to the sea container. He quickly pulled up a holographic keyboard and monitor.

"B-YA… AOB… QM-V… D2-5. Planet is forty-five thousand light years from Sol. Request rescue drones that I can control. This is The Strategic Teaching Computer. Requesting Emergency wormhole delivery to the following grid.

"Lima Mike Oscar zulu zulu-"

* * *

-=Two minutes later=-

"X-ray bravo. Crew is down to fifty seconds of oxygen. I'll attempt to cryo them once they die, but it isn't guaranteed… Please, if you're getting this. Help them." Sam finished with desperation in her voice.

Satcom turned to the group of engineers with angst stricken across her face "You will get me there, or I'll kill every last person on the planet."

The engineers looked at each other for a few seconds before turning their gaze back to Satcom.

"no." One of them replied quietly. "We can't send anything larger than an SRV through at once."

"Then I'll improve it." She replied. "Admiral Satcom to all HDF Forces, hold your fire and wait for further instruction."

"That's a little late Admiral, we just finished rounding up the last of the prisoners." Admiral Paterus replied.

"… Standby." She said. "I don't want have to keep your men prisoners, but I will if necessary." Satcom said to the engineers. "Who's in charge?"

"That would be me Admiral." An elderly man said while he stood up, which caused a few of the soldiers around them to raise their weapons until Satcom held out a hand, gesturing that it was okay.

"Well, I'm only going to ask this once. Will you tell your men to stand down?"

"There not my men. I'm just in charge of what's down here… Listen I mean no disrespect, but Elliot doesn't ha-"

"You have NO RIGHT to call him by Elliot!" Satcom interrupted with anger, causing everyone in the room to jump, even the HDF soldiers.

"Sorry Admiral. But the Admiral doesn't have much time. Can we get to work with trying to get something larger through the wormhole?" The old man asked while gesturing to the giant ring.

"… Who here knows who I am."

Instantly, every soldier that had been taken prisoner in the bunker raised an arm. Shortly after most of the engineers and technicians also raised a hand.

"Then you know what Crawford means to me. So let me ask you, will you help me save his life?"

A few people responded with a yes.

"That's not what I'm looking for. Who here wants to save him, not for me, but for the sake of saving a great man?"

This time a few more people responded, and with more enthusiasm.

" _Come on people._ One more time. Who here wants to bring back the legendary Admiral Elliot Felix Crawford, the greatest battle tactician who ever lived. The _only_ man to capture an entire star system in One Sol cycle."

This time several loud I Do's were heard from most of the prisoners in the room.

"Sargent, please remove their restraints." Satcom said. The Section leader started to walk towards the prisoners, but was stopped when Satcom grabbed his shoulder.

"Keep an eye on them, just in case." She whispered, to which he nodded.

* * *

-=Two hours later=-

The Federation soldiers were still confused as to why they had been freed by the ICT's, who until a few hours ago, were slaughtering them. The Soldiers were allowed to go anywhere within the base, provided they don't enter any of the buildings. In addition, ICT Soldiers had been posted every fifteen meters just in case someone got an idea. The HDF Infiltration soldiers had been hard at work to assure The engineers wouldn't sabotage the Wormhole generator, which was making progress with the mass transportation issues it was plagued with.

"Just look at them." One of the Federation soldiers said while leaning up against a wall. "They're like ten feet tall."

"Actually were only eight foot two." The ICT replied from about twenty meters away.

"How the hell did he here you?" Another federation soldier asked. Before the first soldier could say anything, the ICT had started walking towards them, and was there in just a few steps.

"I've never actually met a human before... You're quite fragile."

"Gee, thanks. So how did you hear us?"

"Well, I'm an ICT, Or Imperial Clone trooper. Were genetically modified to be better than our Human counterparts. I'm stronger, faster, have better hearing, eyesight and reaction speed that you do."

"Wait wait wait. How much stronger?"

"Well, when I work out, I bench seven-hundred pounds for sixty reps."

"Shit, no wonder we lost." Another soldier said in a mopey tone.

"We did have you outnumbered six to one, well, now it's thirty to one from causalities."

"I don't understand, how come only a few of us were killed?"

"We were told not to eliminate anyone. The only soldiers who did that to my knowledge were the ICP's and the HDF Forces." The ICT replied "I need to return to my post, but I was nice meeting you." He said while extending one of his enormous hands. After a few seconds of the federation soldiers staring at the size of his mitts, they one by one shook the clones hand.

"Did you see the size of his hand!?"

"Holy shit, it was like I shook a bench vise." Another man said while flicking his hand back and forth in pain.

"… Man, I always was told that the imperial clones were heartless, one step above animals. But he was a nice guy…. Any of you think We should defect?"

"Are you fuckin crazy, to the Empire!?"

"NO... God no, To the Human defense force. That's who's leading this invasion."

"I Don't know, but Hell. This is about thirty steps above how we treat prisoners."

"True dat."

Satcom was busy spearheading the wormhole mass problem, and was very close to fixing the small amounts of mass that could travel through the portal. The entire engineer team was trying their best not to fall behind what she was saying, only about half of which they could understand.

Simultaneously, the former Imperial Admiral Denton Paterus was having a holographic meeting with Aisling Duval about the current situation.

"Where are you, it's been five hours since you should have arrived with the Federation president." Duval said.

"My apologies Emperor, but the Admiral has taken us on a detour."

"First thing Denton, I've known you since in was a child, so loose the Emperor silliness. Second, you don't need to be sorry for anything that isn't in your control."

"Sorry... You're the most laid back emperor I've served under, I rather like it… I'm getting too old to be yelling sir this ma'am that."

"OH come now Denton, you're only seventy two, and You've turned down my offer for the nanites." Duval said.

"I want to die a man, not a cyborg like someone else I know." He replied.

"What, it's just a muscle retention and enhancement nanite." She replied defensively.

"My point exactly… Oh I have one other thing to inform you of… You may not like it."

"I swear if you say you blew up one of my ships, it's coming out of your paycheck." Duval said while putting a hand on each of her hips.

"Hehehe, I know that death is better than making you angry… _Sigh_ There's no good way of saying this."

"Then just say it." Duval replied with chuckle.

"...I'm leaving the Empire."

"… Ha… Haha… HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa… OH… MY… Gosh…. Denton, we're joining the Human defense force. There is no more Empire. I'm handing governing authority over to the leader of the HDF once they arrive."

"But it's just one ship."

"It's not just a ship, It's an idea, to bring all of humanity back to it's roots; To the golden era of freedom. The post colonial war United states of America. Where everyone is free and no one is burdened by the government. I sent you an E-mail awhile ago."

"I feel _SO_ dumb right now."

"Well you should, now go help you're new leader." Aisling said before ending the transmission.

"...Yep." Denton said a few seconds after the transmission ended. He then attempted to contact Satcom.

"Yeah." Satcom said.

"So, what are we doing?"

"I'm bringing a wormhole on board your ship. Then we're going across the galaxy to save Admiral Crawford."

"B-But-"

"No buts, I'm sure he'll forgive you... eventually."

"...Yes Ma'am." He said glumly

"Oh Cheer up. It's not everyday you get to go across the galaxy."

"But what about the Thargoids?"

"We'll be back in a few days. Now get the president on the Replicator and have it take him to Aisling. We've solved the mass Issues and can now transport anything with the modified version I made. Oh, and open the Dignitary hanger would you, I'm waiting outside."

"Of Course Admiral."

Once Satcom had landed in the large hangar located under the belly of the Majestic class interdictors, she brought out several pieces of equipment, including a large floating sphere of a dark purple liquid. She then headed towards the reactor room in order to install the wormhole system. Satcom walked through the ship with the several pieces of equipment, earning hundreds of stares from ICT's, ICP's, ICO's and human officers; Eventually Denton crossed paths with Satcom and her purple sphere.

"Should I even ask?"

"Sure, but the real question is, will you understand."

"Maybe, but let's find out. What's the purple floating sphere of destiny?"

"It's a Large Anti-matter water sphere used to negate time space restrictions by tunneling through normal matter."

"Hmm, is it similar to the witch space in the way you can use highways to move through space."

"Somewhat yes, except the range is infinite. Now I have a lot of work to do, and we don't even know If Admiral Crawford is still alive." Satcom said while walking past Denton.

Nearly five hours went by of Satcom trying to install the antimatter into the engines without compromising the vacuum/magnetic field that keeps the liquid from exploding when it touches normal matter.

"You should r-"

"I FUCKING DID IT!" Satcom interrupted while jumping up and down with excitement. She then ran over to Admiral Paterus and hugged him with all her strength.

"Couhuhuhuld you not."

"Oh, sorry, but I just did the impossible." She said, her voice still filled with excitement.

"Now my back hurts. Yep, I'm definitely too old to be an admiral anymore." Denton whined while rubbing his lower back.

"I could fix your back, I'm a certified chiropractor." she said with cheerfulness from her achievement.

"Do those really work?"

"See for yourself, but obviously not in the engine room. Your quarters would be a more suitable location."

"Why not."

Once the duo reached Dentons quarters, she had him lay on the bed, then proceeded to pop every vertebra in his back.

"Okay, now I'm going to do your neck. It might seem like I'm trying to snap it, but I can assure you that I'm not."

"How reassuring, but you've done wonders so far." He replied.

"Okay just relax." Satcom then turned his neck to the left and slightly upwards, then made a small jerking motion which cause several audible cracks. She then repeated the process in the other direction, causing more cracks. Once Denton stood up and walked around a little in the fancy white themed room, he gave his opinion.

"I feel positively wonderful."

"Excellent, now how about we head to the bridge on this thing."

"By your command Admiral." He replied while gesturing to the door.

Once the two exited the room into the white themed hall, several human officers were standing around the door, seeming to be watching in anticipation. The second the officers laid eyes on Satcom, their faces went pale.

"You wouldn't believe how amazing she is." Denton commented.

"Phrasing much." Satcom replied with irritation.

"What are you t-OHHH. Whoops."

"Attention all Personnel in the area. I simply Provided chiropractic services to the Admiral because I kinda hugged the life out of him."

"Suuuurrrree." One of the officers from the crowd replied. Satcom rolled her eyes and walked to the nearest LCD panel, touching the display with her hand. The display wigged out for a few seconds before showing a video from satcoms' perspective of her popping Dentons' back and neck. After a few minutes of this, several disappointed awww's came from various places around the gathering of officers, as the video ended with the two Admirals exiting the room.

Now that the moderate misunderstanding had been rectified, the two resumed their journey to the bridge.

"How did you do that with the video?"

"It's classified."

"Of course it is. Nowadays, what isn't."

"Yep."

Upon arrival in the bridge, dozens of ICO's were at work frantically trying to achieve something. Denton quickly asked what was going on, and one of the clone Officers explained that systems were acting without activation.

"Admiral Paterus, there's nothing to be worried about. My artificial intelligence has entered your ship. DON'T worry, it won't do anything unless I tell it to, which I have. Currently were preparing to leave explored space."

In an instant, all the systems quit acting up and the ICO's quickly slowed their work.

"If you say so." He said while walking to a different styling of 3D Radar. Denton then pressed a button on the table like object and started speaking. "Attention all hands, prepare for hyperspace."


	17. Chapter 17: Rescue Mission

Chapter Seventeen: Rescue mission

 _The word 'happy' would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness._

* * *

"Attention all hands, prepare for hyperspace travel." Denton said while leaning towards a small adjustable microphone. Now that the chaos of ICO's and Human Officers had quelled, Satcom got a better look at the bridge of the imperial ship, which Farragut Battlecruisers didn't have. The room was themed in an eggshell white, with dozens of holographic consoles strewn around the room for the officers. Towards the bow of the ship were several glass windows that allowed an almost unobstructed view into space. As Satcom padded around the room to look at the far more exotic features of the ship, something in particular caught her attention.

"You have plants." She quietly said while removing one of her gloves to touch the flora.

"Indeed. As you know, the Empire prides itself in Creature comforts. So yes, we do have plants as well as other amenities, such as a small pool." Denton said while still standing in front of the cylindrical 3D radar system in the center of the room. The Radar was very similar to the one aboard the HDF Erebus, except it was a circular holographic battlefield instead of a square.

"I've never been in a real pool before." Satcom replied while delicately feeling the leafy plant. Once she was satisfied, her roaming continued around the fairly large Bridge. The next point of interest was the large glass windows about fifteen feet away; Upon nearing the glass window, her Combat suit and accompanied backpack changed from a black Multicam to the same Eggshell white of the bridge.

"Impressive." Denton Said while looking at the color faze.

"What?"

"Your Armor." He said while pointing.

"Oh, yeah… Pretty advanced stuff." She said while looking down at her tightly compressed clothing.

"I don't suppose the first Admiral under your command could know how it works."

Satcom let out a small chuckle before replying. "Heheh, Sorry, but only two were ever produced and I don't know how it works."

"Even with your vast caverns of knowledge."

"Flattery, while appreciated, won't suddenly allow me to make a flexible, kinetic dissipating armor."

"Mmmhhhmmm…" Denton replied with a yeah-right face. "At least tell me what the pentagon of stars of your chest are."

"That would be my fleet Admiral insignia."

Denton nodded in silence for a minute well Satcom wandered around a little more. "When shall we depart Admiral, by now I imagine Admiral Crawford has been dead for hours."

"How about now, are the ICT's and ICP's recalled for this ship."

"Yes ma'am."

"Very well… Satcom, meet your newest commander, Denton Paterus." Satcom said.

"Who are you t-"

"Hello Admiral, My name is Satcom, or Strategic teaching computer, OR Sam if you prefer. I'm one of two copies of the artificial computer in charge of teaching the next generation of Federation Fleet Admirals." Satcom Said through the Bridge intercom system.

"Um, I thought you were Satcom."

"Nope, but you're going to call me that anyway."

"But-but-but."

"No buts." She replied. " _Sam, get the Anti-water ready."_ thought.

"Yes Admiral." Sam replied into her head.

In an instant and without warning, Denton collapsed, spasming wildly on the floor. This continued for about five or six seconds before he recovered, only to sit slumped over in panic. Satcom started to rub Dentons' back, much in the way Elliot did with Jacqueline, and he calmed down within a few minutes.

"I don't suppose you have a miracle drug for seizures?" He asked in a sarcastic tone, only for Satcom to pull out a small syringe.

"Wait, you actually have one!?" He asked with joy.

"Yep, now don't move." She replied while shoving the needle into his neck for a few seconds. "Okay you should be all better in about an hour, and if you had any other problems, I just fixed those as well."

"H-how?" He asked in a daze.

"Magic." She replied while waving her hands.

Denton then looked at Satcom while trying to decide on persisting with the question. "At least tell me if it was nanites."

"Nope, completely biological."

"Well in that case, Help an old man up, would you?" He asked while extending one of his hands.

"What are friends for."

"Yeah, just think of it. Bitter enemies turned into friends in a matter of hours." Denton said while rubbing the slightly bloodied injection spot.

"I took much longer than that for me to forgive you." She replied quietly. "I actually half considered having my AI vent all the oxygen in your ship as soon as you exited Hyperspace."

"oh." Denton replied at a low whisper.

"But now were here and all is forgiven… Do ya need a hug?"

"Um… That's a bit childish don't you think?"

"Don't knock it until you try it." Satcom said while extending her arms toward the elderly Admiral. After a few seconds of watching him process things, Denton accepted her offer of a hug. Satcom started to slowly rub his back while they hugged and within seconds, he practically melted in her embrace. Once they separated, he had a blank expression stricken across his face.

"… How could something as simple as that feel so comforting. It made me feel, I don't really know."

"Safe?"

"Yeah, yeah that's it. How did you do that."

"No matter how tough a man thinks he is, a woman will show how soft his heart can be."

"But really, how did you do that?"

"A woman never reveals her secrets." Satcom answered with a mischievous grin. "Let us depart. SAM, Engage the New Horizon warp drive."

"Yes Admiral." Sam replied as a sphere of Black water appeared in front of the ship, quickly growing in size until it was about the same diameter as the ship was long. ( 2.3km )

"One of three things will happen. Either we'll go through just fine, The ship will be imploded, or we'll destroy the universe." Sam said with hints of excitement.

"It's joking about that last one, right?" Denton asked with a nervous laugh. "Right!?"

"Nope. First, Sam Is a she, Obviously. And second, I'm not quite sure, but I think this is the largest antimatter sphere ever created; We just need to get into the center of it and We'll be fine."

"Oh well that's just great." Denton said with sarcasm.

"In theory." Satcom added.

"Oh come on."

"Accelerate to Two MPS." Satcom Ordered. Shortly after, a few of the Officers around the room took their positions on the helm and accelerated the ship towards the Black Ball of water. Black doesn't really describe it though, you have to really be there. A complete void of all light, almost pulling light itself into the massive sphere.

As the bow of the ship neared the Anti-water, The liquid started to warp towards the ship, eventually making contact. "Keep speed at Two MPS." Satcom ordered.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Denton asked with apprehension.

"Definitely not, but when is science really ever safe?"

The white ship edged further and further into the anti-matter, causing it to violently ripple, occasionally Flaring outward like a solar flare. The Former Federation prisoners on the ground, Now HDF Supporters, had thousands of sensors, cameras, and other scientific equipment running to capture the moments leap in technology (If it worked.)

As the ship's bridge neared the sphere, the only thing visible through the glass was black. Nevertheless, the ship continued to edge into the anti-water. After a few seconds of the bridge being engulfed in the black abyss, it cleared into a brilliant display of colors along with multiple tunnel like gateways that seemed to be kilometers away; At the end of the short tunnels (in perspective) Laid stars, thousands upon thousands of stars.

"Um, should that be happening?" Denton asked.

"Well, I don't know. It appears that the New Horizon is Multidimensional."

"English?"

"It's larger on the inside than the outside. It's much like the-"

"Don't tell me, I don't need another headache."

"Suit yourself." She said while shrugging her shoulders. "So Sam, which one do we go through?"

"None of them, were already being transported from what I can tell." Sam replied. "Just accelerate and the preset coordinates will be reached."

"Very well. Helmsmen, engines ahead full." Denton ordered.

"Aye aye sir."

With that, the helmsmen pushed the throttle lever forward, and the ship to accelerated quite quickly.

"One-hundred… Four-hundred… Six-hundred meters per seconds sir."

The ship almost seemed to be stationary compared to how large the inside of the antimatter sphere was, and it seemed like they would never reach an edge of one of the many gateways to different parts of space.

"What do you think those tunnels are?" Denton asked while pointing to one of the gateways.

"In theory, white holes. That's my best guess."

"But we've never seen one of those."

"Yep, it probably means they lead to other galaxies. So try not run into one of t-"

Satcoms' words were cut short when a pure white tunnel started to engulf the ship, as well as bright green lightning arcing to the ship.

"Shouldn't lightning be purple? And should it be hitting us at all!?" Denton said, his voice turning to panic once he realized what he was saying.

"Not if it's anti-plasma... But I think the journey's almost over, one way or another." She said, gesturing to the fast approaching void at the end of the tunnel. "Brace for impact." Was said just before hitting the void once more. Only nothing happened, they simply passed through without even as much as a vibration.

"Well, that was rather anti clim-" Denton said, only to be interrupted by a massive beam of white light shooting out in both directions as what seemed like an infinite white line ripping through space; The line kept growing in length and eventually started to grow in width.

"Well shit, I think we broke it." Satcom said.

"Broke what exactly? We did make it after all."

"Yeeeeaaahhhh, I think I broke the universe, because that looks an awful lot like a crack. Ya-know, the space-time ripping apart kind. But at least it's not growing." She said, only to have the crack in space expand.

"You just had to say it."

"Welp… I guess we found out how far we can push technology, and I think we pushed a _little_ too hard."

" _WE,_ no, _YOU_ pushed it, I was just along for the ride."

"Oh come now, there's no point in trying to shift the blame when all life is probably going to die any s-OH SHIT!"

In an instant, the large white crack like beam through space retracted in length, followed by a massive quasar pulse and linear spiral at the center of the energy jet. This completely engulfed the room in blinding white light, whereas before it was a dim, Computer screen white.

"Hard to starboard.." Denton said and shortly after, the white quasar drifted to the left of the ship.

"What the hell is that!?" Denton shouted while attempting to focus his eyes on the blinding light.

"Seriously, it's a quasar. We've closely observed hundreds of them, how do you not know this?"

"I'm a warship Admiral, not an exploratory hick."

"Actually, by definition. You're the biggest ' _Exploratory hick'_ of them all, you just went farther than any human has ever been into space… Besides Admiral Crawford. And because he was the first to come here, that'll make him a legend among the exploration community, not a hick." Sam said through the Intercom.

"Oh, pish posh." Denton replied with a dismissal wave.

"And come to think of it. Wasn't there an Imperial design to harness quasar energy and focus it into a planet destroying weapon."

"Whaaaaaatttt, no way."

"Uh-huh." Satcom said with a ' _Seriously'_ face.

The two Admirals, along with most of the officers in the room continued to watch the white quasar until it fizzled out. They then headed to the specific coordinates that Elliots' Copy of Sam gave them using the normal Witch space drive; The INV Imperial freedom dropped in just on the outside the asteroid belt.

Due to the large amounts of asteroids, the Interdictors sensor array wasn't able to pick out The FNS Artemis. Instead, the ship sent out its fighters to search for the incapacitated ship. About a half an hour later, ICP Wing three spotted the ship, noting that the entire Power plant was destroyed as well as no life being detected on board. Satcom then took her Vulture Superiority fighter as well as a few of the HDF Infiltrators that came aboard the INV Imperial freedom for ' _Safety concerns."_ out into the vacuum of space. Upon reaching visual confirmation of Elliots' ship, Satcom almost started to cry. The center of the ship had a massive hole bored through one side and out the other, where the Fusion reactor used to be. Massive amounts of armor were bent and ripped apart where hundreds upon hundreds of munitions had impacted. Once she was closer to the docking port, which was near the small command deck, She saw him floating inside.

The HDF were Wearing combat Extravehicular activity (EVA) suits and Satcom was wearing just Her G-suit with a neck and wrist sealing attachment; The rest of the suit was an airtight onesie. The search party found it almost impossible to navigate due to the ship's hallways being destroyed, but eventually made it to the airtight door holding in atmosphere for the cockpit.

"This should be it. Sergeant Dunn, open the door. Remember, we'll only have a few seconds to get him into the retention chamber. I don't think I need to remind you that it's pressurized in there, not out here." Satcom said while pulling a large disk off another soldier's back.

The Infiltration commander pressed a button on his suit, activating the wireless power center. This powered up the door, allowing him to open it in a timely manner. The instant the door started to open, massive amounts of Oxygen depleted atmosphere rushed out into the unpressurized hallway. The instant the air had lost pressure, everyone flooded the room; Satcom was the first one into the large cockpit.

"The Fuck is that?" She asked while looking at the Snow leopard that had wrapped herself around Elliot. Nevertheless she Put the large disk below the dead Admiral and Snow leopard Accoutrement, Immediately pressing the single button in the center. An almost completely clear, white cocoon encapsulated the two, giving them heat and Oxygen, not that the oxygen would matter; The Capsule was designed from the airlock technology used on both federation and Empire ships.

"I know this is a bad time, but what is that?" Sergeant Dunn asked.

"Not now. You, you, and you. Get Him on the Vulture. Dunn, you're with me, we need to find His copy of Satcom."

"Yes Ma'am." The four Soldiers said simultaneously, before going about their tasks. Satcom and Dunn started their search for the Storage location of Sam, which she knew wouldn't be onboard the Artemis's Storage banks. They eventually reached what was left of his Quarters, finding a few personal items that Satcom knew would be important to Elliot. After putting the items into Dunns' backpack, he suggested the cargo bay.

"This must be it, right?" Dunn asked.

"Sure looks like it." She replied while scrutinizing the Quantum entanglement Communications relay. "This must be What Sam was stored in." She added, referring to the Security/survival pod. Upon further examination, The door where Sams' drive was located opened and two Martha's flew out, weapons deployed. Upon seeing Satcom's armor and the patch on her right shoulder, they retracted the weapons and flew back into their allotted bays. The pods then started to do single jet pulses to maneuver out of the gaping hole in the Storage bay. Once they had completely exited the hole in the ship, the two sea containers sped into the asteroid field.

"Where's it going?" Dunn asked while he held onto Satcom's hand as she flew them back to the vulture that had undocked from the Artemis.

"I imagine back to the big ship." She replied, now having reached the airlock. The rest of the short flight through space was quiet. Satcom was quietly flying through the asteroids as the four HDF Infiltrators were examining the Strange creature that was tightly wrapped around The Admiral.

"Think it's a clone?" One whispered.

"Naawww." Dunn replied.

"Shut up, we'll find out later. Right now we need to get them revived, get those two to the Infirmary and prep some RSK mark two's." Satcom ordered as the fighter neared the large hangar bay within the belly of the capital ship. Once they landed and exited the heavy fighter, the three men and one woman hoisted the two bodies over their shoulders and headed toward the Medical wing. "Dunn, hold fast would you." She said in a troubled voice.

"How can I help Ma'am?"

"Keep an eye on the cat thing. I need to go over this stuff with Elliot's Sam."

"I could do the looking over, you should really be at his bedside injecting the RSK's. After all, you made them."

"Look, I know I won't be objective with him. That's why I'm putting you in charge, I know Hawkins and Dotson are good soldiers, but I especially trust you."

"I Uhh, yes Ma'am." He answered in a stupor.

"… So don't mess it up." She said while walking in the direction to where the two sea containers had landed.

"Yeah, no pressure right." He shouted, Quickly turning for the medical bay.

* * *

-=Sergeant Dunn POV=-

I hadn't even bothered taking my EVA suit off before running in the direction of the Medical bay, which was located within the artificial gravity ring of the ship. The Medical center was about a half mile away through zero G territory, then up to another half mile depending on where the gravity ring was in its rotation.

By the time I made it to the Medical room where the two were located, Specialist Hawkins and Corporal Dotson had already hooked them up to IV lines with nothing attached. I walked over to Admiral Crawford while pulling out a Recovery stimulation kit mark 2. This new version only used a third the liquid with twice the potency, and the liquid was far more watery than the mark 1.

"Dotson, get the VAD over here, we probably don't have much time before his blood gets too clotted."

"I'm not a field medic, I don't even know what a V.A.D is." He replied.

"You like old cars right?"

"Umm, yeah."

"Ok, look in the cabinet over there." I said while pointing across the room. "You're looking for what looks like a very tiny Turbo charger."

"This thing?" he said while holding up a chrome turbine with a tube coming off one end.

"Yeah, bring it over here. Hawkins, get me some blood thinner." I said while stripping my EVA suit off. I then went over to the sink, washed my hands and put on some gloves. I also grabbed alcohol and some cotton swabs.

"Please remove his shit." I said while grabbing a few more items, setting them on a chrome rolling table. After Dotson had removed the thermal shirt from the lifeless Admiral, I rubbed down his entire chest with alcohol.

"Aww shit, we're not really doing what I think, right?"

"I'm afraid so." I said as Hawkins returned with the blood thinner and three white bunny suits. All three of us put the suits on while PFC Yates continued to look at the Furred creature. "YATES!"

"Yes Sir." He answered, quickly turning around to face me at full attention.

"Get an imperial surgical team working on her."

"Yes Sir." He answered, as the thumping of boots disappeared around the corner.

Okay, everyone set?"

"Yep." Hawkins said.

"Yeah, as I'll ever be." Dotson said with massive amounts of anxiety.

"Hey look at me, you're not doing the cutting. Just stand here and hand me shit when I ask for it, Okay?"

"Yes sir."

I took one more look over at the tray to see if everything was there, and sure enough I forgot the most important thing; I forgot to get the assortment of hypodermic needles needed. After Hawkins returned with the needles, I started the process. "Plasma cutter."

"Uhh."

"The Scalpel." Hawkins said.

"Oh, here ya go."

Upon activation, the small scalpel blade started to emit purple plasma at its blade edge. I then made a 10 inch cut along the center of Crawford's rib cage, directly over his heart. Once I was done with the cut, I turned off the plasma blade, handing it back to Dotson, who had a disgusted look on his face.

"Plasma saw." I said, and he handed me a much larger version on the plasma scalpel. I then slowly but surely cut through each and every rib on his right side.

"Rib Spreader. It's the flat hook looking thing." I said while handing back the plasma saw. He held out what looked like a large caliper. "See, you're getting it." I put the two paddles in between where his ribs were cut open, and with a few click of the ratcheting mechanism, his chest was wide open, exposing his heart and lungs.

"SSG, zoom to three times with light." I said, causing the smart surgical glasses I was wearing to zoom in, along with a very bright light to shine into his chest cavity. The glasses look just like sport glasses except with an embedded computer screen. "Normal scalpel." I ordered, and Dotson handed me the microscopic thin bladed knife. I then started one of the more important cuts, the knife ran along his left ventricle, opening it for one of the parts to the VAD. My next cut was to be along his aorta, but something was blocking me from reaching it. There was a small mechanical tube surrounding a section of his aorta, and upon further inspection I found it was attached to his right atrium as well.

"Shit, I forgot they have blood warmers, this one looks used though." I said, noting the burnt out heat pack that was about the size of a grain of rice.

"So just remove it and have the RSK fix the problem." Hawkins said, also inspecting the warmer.

"No, we can't... Dotson, I need you to listen carefully. Get on the radio and ask the Admiral what we should do with it."

"Yes sir." He replied before running out the door.

"Okay, for now we're just going to work around it. Blood thinner and a thirty-four gauge needle." I said while starting to install the First section of the Ventricular assist device (V.A.D) I took the small silver tube running off the main turbine and inserted it into the opening I made in his Left ventricle. By this time Hawkins had finished making the syringe of blood thinner. I then grabbed the thinner and started to insert it into all four major cavities of his heart.

"Okay, She said to just remove the spent heater and leave the mechanism in."

"Okaayyyy, that's a bit odd, but whatever. Micro forceps." I said while handing back the syringe, only for it to be replaced by the tiny tweezers. Once my hand was about halfway into his chest, I reached to the mechanical device covering his aorta, and pulled on the small burnt out grain of rice. As it popped out of the installation point, several almost microscopic wires came out with it, followed by the small pocket closing via a mechanical hatch. Once I set the Magnesium heater on the tray, I briefly looked over to the creature that was wrapped around Crawford "Holy shit, she's awake."

Dotson and Hawkins snapped their heads over to the operating table across the room, only to see the same thing as me. The cat like humanoid was sitting upright on the table, while other doctors tried to get her to lay back down. "Dotson, get the other doctors to leave. You're new task is to guard us from her."

Without answering, Dotson scrambled away from the operating table. "He sure is gutless when it comes to blood." Hawkins said.

"Ehh, everyone has their ups and downs. Besides, he's a hell of a shot." I replied, continuing with the task at hand. Now that the first part of the VAD had been installed, and the magnesium heater had been removed; I focused on finding an area where I could cut into Crawford's aorta. I eventually found the location where to make the insertion, a less than optimal location. By this point loud arguing was going on across the room and I tried my best to ignore it, due to my scalpel being just a few millimeters away from the incision point. Once the small cut was made, I put the output tube into the incision point. The last thing to be installed would have been the power supply, but since all we were doing was trying to get his blood to flow again, it was unnecessary.

"Hawkins, get the rest of his arteries filled with a little blood thinner. I'm going to attempt to calm down the other one." I said.

"Be careful sir, we have no idea what she is."

"Yeah yeah." I said while walking away from the operating table. All the other doctors had left, leaving Dotson by himself to hold back the Fluffy woman cat thing, who was winning their struggle.

"Hey boss, could you give me a hand. She's REALLY Frickin strong." Doston said in a strained voice as the cat was pushing him backward.

"HEY!" I shouted, getting the attention of the cat. "You need to sit here-" I started to say while pointing to the operating table. "And stop making a Ruckus, We're operating over here." Now I was pointing to the operating table where Crawford was laying with his chest wide open.

"Nu, trebuie să-l văd! Lasă-mă să văd Elliot." The cat shouted back.

"Elliot is going to be fine, just sit down." I said, once again pointing to the operating table.

The cat then started to talk as tears filled her eyes. "Tu nu înțelegi, el a murit înainte de a veni. sângele său va cheag în curând… Te rog ... Lasă-mă să-l văd."

She had a look of total desperation while she spoke in an unknown dialect.

I then walked a little closed to put my hand on her shoulder, but I was stopped by her paw grabbing my wrist, followed by her pointing to the blood covering my gloves. "Sorry, I forgot about that. Look, just sit here and wait, we know what we're doing." I said, once again gesturing to the table. Before she could respond, I walked across the room to fetch a clean set of gloves, then continued the operation.

* * *

-==Five hours later==-

-=third person view=-

"Admiral, It's Sargent Dunn." He said to Satcom through the intercom panel on the outside of her temporary room.

"It's open." She replied.

"I finished the opera-Oh my gosh, you're naked." He said in panic, quickly shielding his eyes and turning around

"Yeah so wha… I forgot normal training doesn't include intersex showers." She said nonchalantly, continuing to mosey around the room without clothing.

"What, of course it doesn't!" Sergeant Dunn said indignantly.

"We never got that luxury... I've got clothes on now."

Dunn hesitated for a few seconds, eventually turning around and opening his eyes for just a seconds. "NO YOU DON'T!"

"He watch your tone with me."

"Sorry Ma'am. It's just that you still don't have clothes on and I'm married."

"Jeez, am I really putting out that kinda vibe?"

"Ye-N-no Ma'am, not at all."

"Uh-huh. I'm at least wearing a bra and underwear, but suit yourself. So how'd the operation go?" She said while putting on some very nice, perfectly white pants.

"Well, we used a VAD and blood thinner to get his circulation going again. But the Admiral still isn't awake… OH, speaking of awake. The cat thing that was wrapped around him self-revived a few minutes after we laid her on the operation table."

"Hmm I'm going to go down there and see what she is… I'm fully dressed now, so Ya-know."

Once Dunn opened his eyes, they widened slightly. "I haven't seen you wear that in years." He said in a stunned tone." Satcom was wearing her Full dress whites, consisting of paper white fabric, and gold buttons, with four small partitioned gold bars and one large bar on each of her black epaulets. Her right breast was covered in dozens of small colored squares, indicating different achievements; Her left had a few of her more prominent achievements, shown with the full sized medal.

This included her Purple heart, Navy distinguished Service medal, Defense Superior Service medal, Legion of merit, Navy Expeditionary medal, and the crown jewel. Her Medal of honor, which she wore around her neck instead of the Legion of merit.

She was currently fastening the dress saber that went along with the uniform. "I always thought those were silly." Dunn said.

"Well Mine's special." She relied drawing the sword, revealing a thin plasma arc down the length of the otherwise black blade. "Any officer who goes into battle without his sword is improperly dressed. Lieutenant Colonel John Churchill."

"Never heard of him Ma'am."

"Not many have considering he died over a thousand years ago. You wanna see it?" Satcom said while holding out the plasma sword.

"I'm goo- actually, sure." Dunn said while taking the weapon. "Whoa, it only feels like a few ounces." He said while swinging it around halfheartedly. Satcom simply continued with her uniform, donning on white gloves, shoes, and a highly embroidered Admirals hat. After a few minutes of her checking the uniform in a mirror, she asked for the sword back, and once it was sheathed, they exited her quarters.

"So, how's it that light, and how does it work?" Dunn asked while walking on the left side of Satcom.

"Firstly, the inside has hollow passageways to disperse the neon gas, then the gas is hit with correlated magnets to turn it into plasma. The g-"

"Hold up, what's a correlated magnet?"

"It means that one side can have many north and south sides within very close proximity. It gives the sword a high magnetic pull, but only within a millimeter of the blade due to the magnetic field only having to travel about a millimeter to reach an opposing field."

"I get it… Okay I don't get it, but continue anyway."

"Right, the gas is stored in the handle of the blade at about a quarter million BAR."

"Holy shit, what if it were to rupture?"

"Emmm, the ship's hull might be completely filled with neon gas. Now quit interrupting. The blade's made of carbon nanotu… Do you want the smart explanation or the dummies guide?" She asked while looking over to Dunn, who had a scowl.

"Hmph, I take pride I my education, I'll have you know."

"What's your IQ?"

"One eighteen, and I'm proud of it."

"One-ninety, so suck it." She replied victoriously.

"What!? The chart only goes to One-fifty."

"Yeah, well the one I took the test on went up to five-hundred."

"… I'll take the dummies explanation now." Dunn said in a low, depressed tone.

"Oh relax, you know my brain's special. So the blade's made up of carbon nanotubes. It's a synthetic material made up of only carbon atoms, which are naturally one of the largest and best bonding materials. You take the carbon atoms and align them into a perfect structural tube, one atom thick. Then grow it with a solution of-"

"Please just get to it."

"...Fine. The material is Springy like a rubber band, but about five times more force is required to bend it compared to steel. AND, since it's a perfect structure, it doesn't degrade after being bent multiple times. The Nanotubes tensile strength is about a hundred times greater than steel, but Its density is about a quarter of steel, adding yet another benefit. And finally it has excellent conductive properties. There's a few other things that it has going for it, but I can see your eyelids drooping already."

"Yep, but I have the important information. It's bad ass when made into a sword."

"Aww come on, No one want's to learn anything anymore."

The two were nearing the medical wing where several ICT's were trying to get a door open.

"Whats going on here?" Satcom asked, almost instantly everyone stopped their tasks.

"Admiral… Well Crawford woke up, then flipped out and barricaded himself in the medical room." Corporal Dotson said, now having ceased his attempts to kick in the door along with one of the eight foot behemoths.

"Dammit man. I told y-"

"I should have expected this after what happened to him. What would you do if you woke up on an Imperial ship after you had been interrogated for as long as he was."

"Ahh, I forgot about that. It didn't help that he was talking in the same language at the Cat thing though" Dotson said.

"Move." She said while walking over to the blast door "Sam, open the door."

After a few seconds, the large blast door rolled within the wall, leaving the entrance to the Medical wing open. Satcom then took off her sword and hat, followed by walking in. The second she entered the room where Elliot and The Cat were located, a shot rang by her ear. Elliot was standing in front of the cat with a pistol aimed at Satcom's face.

"Nice to see you too." She replied while sticking a finger in the ear nearest to where the round went by.

"Urcă-te pe sol sau voi deschide focul!" Elliot ordered loudly while gesturing to the ground. One of the things Satcom immediately noticed was he was expertly shielding the cat from her, almost hiding the cat entirely with his body.

"Hmm, your Sam warned me about this… Elliot, Sunt eu. Nu am murit pe FNS excelentei."

* * *

-=Elliot Pov, a few seconds earlier.=-

"Get on the ground or I'll open fire!" I ordered while gesturing my pistol to the ground.

"Hmm, seu Sam me avisou sobre isso… Elliot, its me. I didn't die on the FNS Excellence."

I continued to look at the decorated woman, noting that her left shoulder started to glow under the dress coat. After a few seconds of me looking at the light, the woman must have noticed, because she took off the coat, revealing a Trinity symbol brightly glowing orange.

"E-Elliot. Your tattoo's glowing just like hers." Jacqueline whispered.

Sure enough, my left shoulder was glowing with an identical orange tattoo.

"Who are you? You said it's me, like we know each other." I asked while continuing to aim at the woman.

"Elliot, nu pot să înțeleg. Ceva sa întâmplat în limba ta, iar acum limba nu este limba engleză." She replied in a language I had never heard before. I continued to think in silence for a minute or two, trying to figure out how she was speaking a language I hadn't ever heard before. I continued to think on how we would communicate, eventually coming up with a hail mary. I would speak in Greek.

"Boreís na to kataláveis aftó?" _Can you understand this?_

"Nai boró na katalávo ti glóssa mas pérase dekapénte chrónia máthisis." _Yes I can understand the language we spent_ _fifteen_ _years learning._

"Poios eísai? giatí den miloún angliká? Kai giatí oi ómoi mas lamperó me to ídio akrivós sýmvolo." _Who are you? why don't you speak English? And why are our shoulders glowing with the same exact symbol?_

" _Tis den mou pou den boroún na milísoun angliká, káti pou synévi se sas ... Xéreis poios eímai egó?" Its not me that can't speak English, Something happened to you... Do you know who I am?_ She asked with sadness present.

Óchi, tha prépei na ... Aplá mia plevrá simeíosi, eán prospathísete na me vasanísoun kai páli, egó tha skotósei kai tis treis apó emás. _No, should I... Just a side note, if you try to torture me again, I'll kill all three of us._

After a few seconds of her not answering me, the woman's tattoo faded away and she started to cry. Shortly after, she left the room without another word. I looked over to my tattoo, and it was still glowing strongly.

"That was strange."

"Uhh, What did you say?" Jacqueline asked.

"I asked who she was, and why my tattoo was identical to hers."

"Are you sure you don't know who it is."

"Umm, as sure as I can be." I said while scratching my head.

-=Outside the medical room=-

Satcom had walked out without her fancy admirals dress coat, immediately hugging the nearest person, who happened to be Admiral Denton Paterus. She started to openly weep into his shoulder without even knowing who she was hugging.

"What happened in there?" Denton asked quietly.

"H-He doesn't reme-remember me-hee-hee-hee." She said as her sentence trailed into more sobs. The entire corridor was filled with her sobbing, and no one dared say a word. Most of the ICT's and other Imperial crew-members left as quietly as they could, while the four HDF stayed by Satcom's side. Denton continued to hold Her much like a mother would hold their child; He was most definitely old enough to be Satcom's father.

-=Back in the medical room=-

"Elliot, are you sure you didn't say anything else." Jacqueline said while gesturing to the wall in which Satcom was behind.

"Yeah. Well, I said if they tried to torture me, I would kill all three of us."

"You were going to kill me!?" She replied in an exasperated tone.

"Trust me. I'd be doing you a favor, just look at me." Elliot said while examining Satcom's white coat. A few things stood out to him as odd, the first being that it wasn't an Imperial Dress coat. Second was that there were very familiar looking awards, most of which he had received. Elliot began to search the pockets, and in the pocket with the smaller brick like ribbons, he found a photo.

"Umm, Jacqueline… I think we have a problem."


	18. Chapter 18: Memories

Chapter Eighteen: Memories

 _Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory. Instead, forgiving what we cannot forget creates a new way to remember. We change the memory of our past into a hope for our future._

* * *

"Umm, Jacqueline… I think we have a problem."

"Really? I thought we were doing just swell." She said sarcastically.

"Not that. THIS" I said while holding out the small 3x5 picture.

"Yeah, so what." She replied while holding her paws up and shrugging.

"JUST, look a little closer."

"I really don… Is that you?" She said while tapping one of the two figures in the photo. "Oh my gosh, is that tuxedo. Aww you look so handsome in it."

"It sure looks like me, but I don't remember it. Now look at the other person."

"… It's the Mammal you made cry… and she's wearing that jacket." Jacqueline said while pointing to the Dress white overcoat on the floor.

"Actually its Person, not Mammal." Jacqueline immediately scowled at me. "What, better now than later. Look, just tell me what else you can pick out."

"Hmm… You both look happy… How old were you in this?"

"How should I know?"

"Duh, you were IN the picture."

"I said I don't remember anything. Just lemme see it." I said while moving to Jacqueline's side so that both of us could look at the picture. "If I had to guess, maybe ten or twelve, that's about how old they look."

Jacqueline didn't reply due to her very in depth investigating of the photo. A few minutes went by and the muffled cries from the woman disappeared, eventually turning into the sound of men readying to breach the door.

"Elliot, I think I see a flower covered archway behind you...them, whatever. See." She said while tapping a section of the photo with one of her very long retractable claws. After looking for a few seconds with the classical squint of observation, I found the Archway she was talking about.

"Oh yeah, that's a marriage… archway..." I uttered, slowly but surely stopping my speech. I stood in a daze for a few seconds while I racked my brain on what I just said.

"OH, you said you were married, and it was the first time you kissed someone."

"I've never been married."

"I _CLEARLY_ remember you saying it. I was busy kissing the life out of you, and you killed the mood by telling me that."

"When?" I said while scratching my head.

"WHEN, Like a day ago. You were practically squirming under me."

"Just a sec. you're not joking right, because I might have a major memory problem if… I… We… What was I saying?"

Before Jacqueline could answer, the large medical door opened to reveal no one there. I raised the handgun in my right hand, since the left one was still hurting from whatever surgery they did on me.

"Carbon suprimare a incendiilor cu dioxid activat." Was said through the intercom system just before a red warning light flashed along with an alarm.

"Uhh, I heard carbon dioxide. Leeettss go." I commanded while grabbing her wrist. Before we completely exited the room, high pressure gas started to pump in through predesignated output valves. We would have made it outside well before the gas started to pump, but I was taking my time to thoroughly clear each corridor. Once we were outside the room, The large sliding Polycarbonate door sealed shut with several locking pins. The next thing to happen was another door closing to our left, followed by light flashing an an alarm.

"Carbon suprimare a incendiilor cu dioxid activat."

Once again we moved to the next corridor and I figured out what was happening. Whoever was the captain of this ship had decided enough was enough; They were systematically flushing us out of the medical wing using what I presume to be carbon dioxide fire suppression. I had three ideas about what we could do. Either we could continue being corralled to wherever the Captain wanted, we could just be knocked unconscious by the Co2 and hope for the best. Or I could try to outrun the fire suppression system and make it to the central corridor located within the gravity ring.

I decided on option three, increasing my speed to a near jog while still clearing all the corridors by activating my D.D.N.A.M When we rounded a corner. The fire suppression system attempted to keep up by blocking our path several times, but once I started to shoot out all the security cameras the instant we rounded a corner, The system started to lag behind. The more I ran, the more my chest felt like a fire was lit inside, which almost brought me to my knees. Jacqueline noticed, and helped me along the bright white corridors until we reached the Main gravity ring hallway. You'd be surprised what it looked like, probably imagining a grand hallway maybe thirty feet high and about the same distance in width; Nope it's about ten feet high and twenty feet wide. I remember learning the design was to be able to fit the Eight foot clones and that's about it. Even though it's rather small size, it makes up for it in aesthetic design, Having live plants positioned every twenty or thirty feet on each side of the white and gray hall.

My observing was cut short by an electrical barricade activating down the hall to our right. After a few seconds, another Barricade activated, about ten meters closer, followed by the farther one deactivating; The entire hall was engulfed by thin lines of electrical arcs to stop Boarding parties from advancing any further into the ship.

"I think we need to go, how about you?"

"Uhh, yeah." Jacqueline mumbled back, before slinging my left arm over her shoulder.

We started to hobble away as the Electrical traps started turning on faster and faster to keep pace with us. After a minute of this, the traps increased in speed, forcing me to run under my own legs. I continued to attempt clearing corridors, finding that all of the doors had closed and people were behind the glass, watching us run by. Most had neutral expressions, while others had sadness stricken across their face; Most with sadness were wearing a different type of clothing that more closely resembled Federation armor. About two minutes into running from the crispy fry security system, my chest felt like it was going to break open; I knew the Empire did something to my heart, considering there was a hairline scar running in the exact line to do heart surgery. One thing that off put me was that the Empire had not developed anything like the RSK yet. Sure they tried, but I t usually ended in the test subjects organs failing from the load put on them. Yet here I was running for my life, hours after Jacqueline had told me she saw them doing surgery. Not even the RSK was capable of fixing something that fast.

My thought process was once again cut short by another Electrical barricade in front of us. I immediately looked for an escape route, and strangely there was an open room right there. I almost walked in, but realized what was going on.

"Jacqueline if we go in here, I imagine there's no escape."

Jacqueline instantly pushed me into the dark room, which closed right after entering. This sent us into pitch darkness, forcing me to reach around for navigation since I didn't want to use the Echolocation or my bioluminescence for detection reasons. I fumbled around in the darkness for a while, eventually finding what felt like a bed.

"Need any help?" Jacqueline asked from right next to me.

"I can't see anything."

"Oh, I can." She chirped, right before resting her paws on my shoulders. "Where do you want to go?"

"Where are we?"

"Umm, it looks like a really nice penthouse. But I don't see any light switches, sorry."

"Nah, it's fine. Is there anything else in here with us?"

"Umm, not that I can see. But I could check around a little if you want."

"That would be nice, but please be careful."

With that, Jacqueline let go of my shoulders and started padding around, her paws eventually fading away. I felt around what I presumed to be a bed for a few seconds, then sat down on the edge. I started to inspect the weapon I had acquired from that combat inept woman when I woke up; Sure she tried to fight me, but I beat her in about three seconds, which was much slower than normal.

"Hello Elliot." Came from just in front of me. I Instantly back-rolled across the bed and raised the pistol I was inspecting. "Really, you're going to do that."

"Damn right." I replied while continuing to aim in the direction of the voice.

"How do you not remember me? We grew up together."

"Better question, how did you get that photo of me? And how are you in it if I don't remember?"

"I cannot answer that, you see. I'm really a phantom in your mind."

"Then show yourself." I replied and shortly after, an image of her appeared, only younger. She seemed to be just like the girl in the picture.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there sooner." She said sadly.

"Sooner, what are you talking about?"

"We're dying. Really dying… And there's nothing left of us to stop it." She said as her face turned to a solemn expression. "I don't know what to do about it, and us dying in the Artemis made it worse than before."

"Made what worse, stop speaking in riddles."

"I cannot chose how I speak, we have decided that this is the best was to communicate. And for telling you why we're dying, You have to remember."

"Hold up, what do you mean by WE?"

"We, us, I. We're one in the same, just different parts of a genetically modified mind speaking to one another. I'm the subconscious, and you're the conscious. I'm the child, and you're the adult… You have to remember. You have to remember. You have to remember." The other version of me said while fading away. I quickly shook my head a couple times, dismissing it as a hallucination from whatever drug the surgeons used on me.

"I couldn't find anyone, but I found a few thing that said 'To Elliot.' so here you go." Jacqueline said as she set a few things in my lap. "It looks like they gave the cool cube phone back."

"Okay." I said while setting the item on the floor in front of me, followed by me laying on the bed, completely spread out like a starfish. "My chest hurrtttss."

"Mmm, the P-people?"

"Yep."

"The people performed some kind of surgery on your chest. They wouldn't let me get any closer than fifteen feet." Jacqueline said while wandering around in the darkness. She continued to wander for a few minutes while I laid in silence, simply attempting to remember who that woman was in the photo. I had come up with a few ideas, but for the most part, I was still at square one on figuring out as much as a name. "Elliot could you scoot over?" Jacqueline asked from the bedside. I obliged, and she laid down next to me.

"Something I don't understand is how we're so calm about the situation. I mean, for you I could see this being scary just from us being in a large space ship with aliens. But for me, it's-"

"This is a spaceship!?" Jacqueline exclaimed while sitting upright.

"Um, I though I went over that, were in an artificial gravity ring."

"How did you build such a big ship?"

"Please not now. I'm really tired, and I know I can't fall asleep, just in case."

"But."

"Jaaaacqueliiinnneee… not now." I whined quietly.

"… You said you need to stay awake, right?" She asked in a silky tone while standing up on all fours, not that I could see her actually standing up, I just felt the four distinctive indentations in the bed.

"Please don't. I really feel like crap right now. My head and chest hurts, I can't feel my legs, and I'm pretty sure I have amnesia."

Jacqueline didn't respond as she moved over my supine and limp body while on all fours. She then started to flick her tail around my bare feet, which I hadn't noticed were bare until now. I would have protested any other time, but right now the pain I was in drowned out the ticklish feeling running up my otherwise numb legs. "Wow, you really don't feel well, do you?" Jacqueline asked in a quiet tone, ceasing her tickles. I slowly nodded with my eyes closed, simultaneously reaching up to Jacqueline's left ear with my right hand. I began to weakly scratch her ear, chin, and cheeks, earning a loud, almost thunderous purr from her throat. After a few minutes, I ran out of energy to keep my arm up, so I simply dropped It limply wherever it should fall. "Why'd you stop?" Jacqueline whined while continuing to purr.

"I just… Too tired. I think I'll risk sleeping… It's not like we're going anywhere anyway." I mumbled while slightly shifting into a more comfortable position.

With that, the very warm and fluffy feline carefully laid on my chest in a way that put all of her weight off my heart. Slowly but surely, Jacqueline scooted closer and closer to my face while she simultaneously spiraled her tail around my leg. Once she had coiled her tail around my leg several times, and had moved just above my head, she started to nuzzle my neck and shoulder. I still thought her fur was one of the softest thing I had ever felt. And her smell, weather it was just a perfume or the way she smelled, it was intoxicating. After a few minutes of her brushing up against me in various places, She started to slowly but methodically wash my neck, much in the way she did last night. Her licking made me realize I hadn't shaved since going through the New horizon wormhole generator, and come to think of it, I hadn't even had a shower. "Man I must smell awful."

"Huh?"

"Just thinking out loud."

"Mmmmkkayy." Jacqueline replied before continuing to wash my face. The entire time, I wondered if this was something unique to her, or something all Cat like animals did to their significant other. Ha, Just the thought of Jacqueline being my significant other made my heart rate increase... Causing even more pain to emanate from my chest. I immediately focused on slowing my heart rate, something the SDI students were trained in as part of the polygraph defeating course. Once my heart was slowed, I let my mind go blank on the bliss of being methodically cleaned, just enjoying the feeling of her rough tongue, and her heavenly scent. I must have absentmindedly started to pet Jacqueline, because she grabbed my hand and pulled it off her head. "Just rest, you can repay me later." She whispered in my ear, before nibbling it with a fang.

* * *

When I awoke, she was in the almost exact same position when I fell asleep. Unsurprisingly, it was still pitch black in the room, only one difference... I had to pee. All my attempts to unravel the feline from my body were uneventful, only ending in low growls, or her holding on tighter. "Jacqueline, wake up."

"I am awake, and you're not going anywhere." She grumbled back.

"But I have to pee."

"Too bad." She answered, holding on tighter and extracting her claws slightly.

"Well, I'll just pee my pants if I have to."

"You're full of it."

"Just think for a minute, have I made any idle threats yet?"

After a few seconds of no response, Jacqueline sat up and guided me somewhere through the spacious room. After about thirty seconds, she spun me around and sat me down on a very cold seat. "What am I sitting on, its freezing."

"The toilet. Just hurry up." She replied before wandering out of the very echoey room. Once the door shut, I started my business. About halfway through, the lights flicked on to a very low level, and I was immediately horrified by what I saw. Jacqueline was sitting in front of me with a lazy smirk stricken across her face while she propped her head on a paw, that is until she realized I could see her. "… This is just a figment of your imagination." She said while slowly waving a paw.

I squinted at her for a few seconds, trying to determine if it was actually a hallucination. "Nah, she wouldn't do that." I murmured to myself. "So what do you want now? Here to give me more riddles of how you weren't here in time to save me, or how we're slowly but surely dying without anything I can do to stop it."

"..." The ' _Ghost'_ of Jacqueline didn't verbally reply, only a facial expression change from panic, to confusion, and now worry.

"Wait a second, you are a hallucination right?" I asked, once again squinting and leaning my head closer to her.

"Uhh, mayyyybee."

"I swear if you're really in here, I'm not going to be happy." I said, now just sitting on the toilet with my pants down.

"Well I wanted to see if your species had some weird way of peeing."

"Lies and slander. You just wanted to see _ALL THIS!"_ I replied while standing up and gesturing to my exposed crotch.

"ELLIOT!" Jacqueline shrieked while turning her head away and holding up her paws to block me from view.

"It's not my fault you faked leaving the bathroom just to watch me do the awe inspiring deed of taking a piss." I said, perfectly hiding how embarrassed I was for standing in front of Jacqueline with my pants down, literally.

"I'll be outside." She said while scurrying out the door.

Once the door closed and I was she she couldn't see me, I dropped my facade, causing my face to turn bright pink in the mirror. Man I hadn't ever been embarrassed to be naked in front anyone before. I was know to strip for a doctor without a second thought, but here I am with someone that I know, and I barely held back my blushing. " _Now why would she really want to see me like that?"_

" _I think it's because she likes you." W_ as replied into my head. The first words freaked me out, but then I realized it was just Esmond.

" _Dammit man, you can't just do that to a guy on the shitter."_

" _You're not even on the toilet... Ya-know how I gave you that vision of the burning city?"_

" _Uhh, nope."_

" _Yes you do, just remember... If you can still do that anyways."_

" _What's that suppose to mean."_ I thought while washing my hands. By the time Esmond replied, I was about halfway done drying my hands.

"Nothing you can't figure out I'm sure, now hold still." He said while phasing into the bathroom with me. Of course I didn't hold still, I mean if you saw a carbon copy of yourself wearing a full suit of mark five combat armor faze in from thin air, I think you'd freak out a little too. "I said hold still." Esmond griped while reaching out to my forehead. I started to bat his hand away from my face, and he became rather impatient. "HOLD STILL DAMMIT, I'm trying to fix you!"

"Back, back I say." I replied, darting out of the bathroom. The door shot open and I saw Jacqueline sitting on the end of the bed, face buried into her paws; The room had apparently been lit at the same time as the bathroom. When she looked up, her face was one of regret and worry. But when she saw me, her eyes widened. "What?" I asked looking around me, obviously seeing Esmond who was invisible to everyone but me.

"U-u-u-What's that?" She asked while pointing directly to… Oh look at that, Everyone CAN see Esmond. He had a face of total ' _Well shit.'_ and hadn't moved more than an inch. After a few more seconds, he straightened upright, from his chasing position, and looked directly at me.

"Now look what you did."

"ME, You keep trying to poke my forehead-" I said, poking his face in various places. "Mister, ' _I'm just trying to fix you."_

"YEAH, I AM trying to fix you. But it can wait while I erase her memory." Esmond said while walking toward Jacqueline, who immediately stood up and backed away.

Without warning, something inside me started to tingle and I felt this protective rage I had never experienced before. I activated my ' _Enhancements'_ Sending my mind into a racing, calculative weapon. I then reached out to Esmonds' shoulders and grabbed them. Once I had a firm grip, which was within a few milliseconds, I buried my foot into his right knee, sending him partway to the floor. As he fell, I sent twenty amps of power into his left shoulder; 100 times the lethal dose to a human. This caused him to flinch, but not perish, So I did the next best thing. I reached my left hand up to his chin and my right to the back of his head, and snap, he fell to the floor with a broken neck. Just to make sure, Ya-know because he survived a hundred times the lethal dose of electricity. I Deregulated my arms strength and plowed my arm through his chest three times. Lung, heart, and stomach. My whole attack took less than two seconds before it was over, something a normal human, or even the ICT clones were incapable of with the best training. I then deactivated my genetic modifications and stood up, glancing to my blood covered forearm.

After a few seconds of looking at the arm, I looked up to Jacqueline, and at that point I wondered if I had made the wrong choice. She was looking at me with terror filled eyes, and was on the verge of hyperventilating. Would it have been better to just let Esmond erase her memory, That's only something that could be answered with time. When I attempted to walk toward Jacqueline, She backed away in fear. I didn't understand why she would be scared of me when all I did was protect her. Almost the same thing happened when we first me, only I had a pistol to shoot my adversaries, not my own limbs. I once again looked down to my hands, then to the mangled body, deciding to drag it into the bathroom so that Jacqueline could be alone for a while. The entire time I was dragging the 280 pounds of dead man and destroyed armor, Jacqueline hadn't moved an inch.

With a few failed attempts, I eventually heaved the body into the bathtub, which was separate from the stand up shower. After looking at it for a few seconds and being unsettled with looking at my own dead body, I sat down on the closed toilet seat and examined my bloodied arm. It hadn't been damaged by thrusting through level four, Carbon Nanotube armor backed with a non-Newtonian fluid layer; This was the first iteration of my G suits armor properties, but it was first implemented in the late Twenty-tens by the AR500 Armor corporation.

"Ya-know, that was pretty brutal." Esmond said while sitting up in the bathtub.

I immediately stood up and deregulated my arm. "You stay away from her."

"It was just a test. Obviously you passed, but why do you think you could kill a being that can teleport, change the neurological alignment of the way you perceive writing and speech. AND I revived Jacqueline for you. I figured that you'd be devastated when the Imperial medical teams couldn't revive her."

"… Thanks." I said quietly.

"Kid, You need some serious help. Now since you clearly don't want me to erase her memory, I need to explain myself. Then you're going to let me touch your forehead, okay?"

"I suppose."

With that, I washed my arm off and exited the bathroom with the undamaged Esmond. He somehow fixed the fist sized holes and broken neck without me even noticing. Then again I could just be off my ass on acid, really still laying in bed.

"Jacqueline Lujan Ferguson. It's nice to meet you." Esmond said while extending a hand to shake.

"No touching her." I interrupted while pulling his hand away. I completely ignored her strange name, but then again, It's not the strangest out there. "Jacqueline, this is Esmond. He's an astral asshole that's putting me through a secret war."

"So harsh. But yes, Elliot would be correct. Now sorry for scaring you with the whole ' _memory wipe'_ thing. But it was just a test for him to see if He would protect you."

At the mention of this I slightly blushed, but maintained my composure.

"W-who's the real one?" Jacqueline asked while looking at the two of us.

"Really? We look totally different, I have a terrible beard and I'm not wearing combat armor." I said with my hands on my hips.

"Right, that was pretty stupid huh."

Esmond then leaned toward Jacqueline and started whispering something that I couldn't hear. After a little bit of him whispering, she giggled and gained a massive grin while looking directly at me.

"HEY, Something you want to tell me?"

"Nope." Jacqueline replied In a mischievous tone.

"Suuuurrrreee, Okay." I said. "I'm going to go fix my current Uhh, shall we say hygienic dismay." I said while pulling Esmond closer. "If you so much as pluck a hair from her body, I'll end your game." I Hissed into his ear.

"Oh, but if you can't kill me, how do you expect to do that?" He replied provocatively.

"Simple… I'll end myself." I replied. Once I retracted from his ear, Esmond looked at me with disbelief. That God, princess, whatever he was, knew at that moment that I couldn't be pushed around so easily anymore. I could see it in his eyes.

"You two have fun now." I said in a chipper tone before turning away from Jacqueline and staring daggers at Esmond.

Once I was back in the bathroom, I started to look my face over. I had grown a nasty scraggly beard and mustache that was dark brown, almost black in color, Just like my hair. Speaking of hair, Why did I let it grow so long, I look like a hipster mixed with a Hobo. I made a mental note to make sure I fixed my face before I stripped naked to look at the rest of my grimy body.

"Maybe I should get rid of these scars." I mumbled while feeling the various sized scars and markings around my entire body. For the longest time, I thought I would keep these as a reminder of the mistake I made. I had already removed the scars on my face per the request of several friends, but I always thought I would keep the majority of my markings as punishment for the deaths of billions of lives under my hand. That was something I had always wanted to change, Just let me go back and not fire that gun. Then I wouldn't have so much blood on my hands.

But now isn't the time to think on distant memories. With a long sigh, I walked into the shower and turned on the water. You might think the water would have been cold, but nope; The water heater's are located just a few inches down the pipe so that there isn't any chance of microbial growth in a large master tank. As the water ran down my body, I could smell the grime wash off me and when I looked down, I could see piles of brown water washing off. Once I had spent enough time under the water to make my fingers and toes prune up, I stepped out of the shower and was met with a warm breeze of air from the dryer that was embedded into the wall.

By the time I was completely dry, I was bored and very ready to shave my beard and trim my hair. I began to rummage around all the drawers and cabinets for some kind of cutting implement, eventually finding an electric trimmer with a post-it note attached.

" _Figured you'd want this. Sincerely J.C."_

* * *

-=Jacqueline POV=-

The last twenty minutes had been spent with the copy of Elliot explaining who he was and why he was here.

"Why would you put him through all that?" I asked with frustration.

"Well, I told him it was because I thought it was fun… But it's not, Even I have a superior."

"So you wouldn't have done this if you had the choice?"

"No… I'm trying to end this in the best way possible, but even then... It's not pretty."

"How do you know that?"

"I can see into the future. Not very far, only a few hundred years or so."

"..." My eyes widened and my mouth gaped slightly at his utterance.

"You seem surprised."

"Yeah… Can I see the future?" I asked with doubt.

"You probably won't like what you see. And knowing one outcome of the future changes it to something entirely different in most cases."

"Can I see anyway? And if it changes it for the worse you can just erase my memory, Right?"

"Yeah, even I wouldn't dare to lay a finger on you. I'll be honest, Elliot's one scary Individual. Sure he can't physically hurt me, but damn he's imposing. Look at what he did when I threatened to erase a few seconds of your memory." Esmond said. "Speaking of that, why were you scared of him?"

"...I Kinda thought you were him and you killed Elliot." I said in an ashamed tone.

"That's rather zany."

"Huh?"

"It means amusingly unconventional. Now, do you really want to see the future? Even with the possible outcome changing for the better or worse?"

 **(Play: Chant of Immortality by 4everfreebrony)**

After I thought about it for a good minute of two, I had my answer. "Yes."

"Very well, how far into the future do you wish to witness?"

After a few seconds, I replied. "Six Years."

"That's awfully specific… And unfortunate." He said while reaching out to my head. Once his hand made contact with my scalp, I saw fragments of what looked like movie scenes in front of me. I could see a large concrete room that was decorated with a bunch of things that looked like they belonged to Elliot. And I saw Elliot… Slumped against the wall with blood dripping from his mouth.

"Stay away from me. You monster." He rasped out while raising a gun to something that had casted a shadow over him. I attempted to see what the figure was, but couldn't see anything other than an outline. For some reason, I felt like he was speaking directly to me. But I knew that couldn't be.

The next thing to happen was the screen like vision rewinded faster and faster until it reached a certain spot. There was a tan wolf playing a piano in a park that I recognized. "Hey, I run by there in the mornings."

"Yep." Esmond said from right next to me.

I continued to watch the wolf play the piano, and the camera so to speak, zoomed in on the male wolf. I then saw older versions of the two police officers that were at the hospital with Elliot; The same ones that rescued me from the cliffside asylum when I was under the effects of the NH3 flower. They were wearing a very imposing police uniform, and had started to talk to the wolf in a friendly tone. The screen then fast-forwarded and the Wolf was still sitting on the piano bench, talking to a Small arctic fox kit.

"So, were you born blind?" The wolf asked.

"Uhh, no sir… I looked at the bombs' explosion for too long and it blinded me." The small girl replied.

"What kind of bomb could do that!?" I shouted in disbelief.

"...A human bomb." Esmond answered grimly.

They continued to talk for a while and the wolf eventually gave the kit fox what looked like a lot of money. The screen then forwarded and a subtitle came up 'Six months later.' I could once again see the tan wolf in what looked like a hospital due to all the white coloring. He was shielding something from someone else, carrying some type of rifle that looked similar to Elliots' weapons… "Is that wolf suppose to be Elliot?"

"I cannot say. That's one of the rules."

The wolf continued to aim directly into the camera with determination stricken across his face. The camera then switched to a view of the door, which had just been kicked in. The wolf opened fire on the mammals that were breaking in, and after about eight or nine mammals had been killed… I walked in.

"Oh My God." I said in a horrified tone.

The wolf continued to shoot at me, but the bullets bounced off. The screen started to fast-forward well before I was done watching, and the next thing to come up was me in that office I saw with Elliot slumped over.

"Security teams one through seven to the Prison hold. Crawford has escaped, be sure not to harm him. Heaven forbid his wife finds out we killed him… well let's just say the Baal-Hermon disaster would be a warm up." The vision version of me said through a microphone.

"What's the Baal-Hermon Disaster?"

"As I said before, I cannot tell you anything. You must make the assumptions in most cases. But were out of time, Elliot's almost done in the bathroom."

With that, we were shot back into the bedroom just as Elliot opened the door. I was still in shock from what I had just witnessed, and he must have noticed.

* * *

-=Elliot POV=-

"ESSSSMOND." Elliot said with suspicion.

"I didn't erase her memory, But why the trim. You looked so much… better with a beard." Esmond said, almost visually cringing on 'Better'

"Don't think for a second you can change the topic. I warned you what I would do if you touched her." I said while racking the slide on the handgun I acquired from Specialist Hawkins, That was what her name tag read.

"NO!" Jacqueline shirked. "He didn't erase my memory… Just showed my the future." Jacqueline said while looking at the floor.

"YOU WHAT!" I shouted back in anger.

"I did warn her about the consequences."

"Erase her memory." I said with that type of anger that a parent would use in a calm voice to scare the absolute shit out of any kid.

"What? NO, I don't want to forget that. I took y-"

"NO! You can't say anything. Look, some things aren't meant to be broken, and time is one of those."

"But I showed you the future too." Esmond replied.

"I don't remember that, and it's going to stay that way. Jacqueline please… I know what I'm talking about."

"But I-"

"Actually, Elliot's right. I just checked again and it's much worse than before."

"But-but-but…. Okay." Jacqueline mumbled while looking at the floor.

"Erase ONLY the vision, not this conversation or anything else."

"Believe it or not, I actually know what I'm doing." Esmond replied as he touched Jacqueline's head for only a few seconds. "All done, crisis averted."

"What are you talking about I still remember… wait, was it… nooo that's not it." Jacqueline said, attempting to remember the vision.

"Is there anything else you need Esmond?" I asked with irritation.

"Yeah, I was going to fix you. But now you can do it." He replied while phasing into thin air.

Once Esmond had completely disappeared, I lowered the pistol and set it on the nightstand. Without any words, I walked up to Jacqueline and hugged her as tight as possible.

"Are you okay?" Jacqueline asked while I buried my face into one of her shoulders, which was about two inches lower than my shoulders.

"No, I worry that I might lose you to something that's my fault. I couldn't ever live with myself if that happened."

"I'm not going to die anytime soon, so don't worry about me." She replied while rubbing my exposed back. "… Please tell me you're wearing clothes."

"Nope, just a towel. I didn't even need it but I forgot to get some clean clothes." I mumbled while continuing to squeeze Jacqueline.

"Are there even clean clothes in here?" She asked while continuing to pet my back with her smooth paw pads.

"I have no idea."

"Well don-"

"Shhh, you're ruining it." I interrupted while rubbing my cheek against the fur on Jacquelines neck. After a few seconds of this, I moved up to Jacquelines ear. "Have I ever said how soft your fur is?"

"mmmmhhmmm." Jacqueline replied while a blush formed under her fur and on her ears.

"Your really beautiful when you blush like that." I whispered. Jacqueline reciprocate my affection by nuzzling my cheek, but right as she made her first move, I pulled away. "Sorry, I need to go find some clothes."

Just before I was out of reach, Jacqueline pulled my towel off with her tail.

"I don't think you need this." She said with half lidded eyes.

"Ehh, suit yourself." I replied nonchalantly while I wandered from drawer to drawer in my birthday suit. Jacqueline was standing in awe that I was so comfortable standing naked in front of her. "Ya-know, some might say that what you did was sexual harassment."

"No it's not." She replied bashfully.

"Yeah, by definition it is. This is a most defiantly unwanted sexual advancement."

"I was just trying to make you embarrassed." Jacqueline said in an ashamed tone while tucking her tail between her legs and looking at the floor.

I noticed her demeanor and silently walked within a few feet of her. "Hey, just relax." I cooed while gently lifting her head by the chin. "I was just joking. I'm actually pretty embarrassed that I'm naked right now. I just hide it really well."

"Oh, then can you show me wh-HEY, your fur's really short now." She said while feeling where my beard used to be.

"Yeah, I shaved my beard off and buzzed my hair to… I think it was a quarter inch. AND, I probably don't smell like a dumpster diver now."

"What are you talking about, you don't smell… Oh my, you really did smell terrible."

"RIGHT!" I exclaimed. After a few more minutes, and fifty or sixty drawers, cabinets, etcetera later, I found a full set of clothing. It seemed like whoever put these clothes in here was playing a game of hide and seek, clothing edition. Once I dawned on the set of clothing, I decided on trying to find a way out of the room.

"Rule number one. Always check the door. Just because it's most likely locked or under guard, doesn't mean it has to be." I said just before pressing the button to open the pneumatic door. To my surprise, the door actually opened, and on the outside stood three armed soldiers, who were looking directly at me. I smiled and waved just before closing the door. "Welp, not the door. I suggest you go wait in the bathroom, this could get messy." I said while leaning up against the wall next to the door in preparation for the three soldiers to storm the room. Jacqueline did as I asked just in the nick of time, The door opened and a small cube slid in. I thought it was some kind of flashbang, so I plugged my ears while turning away from the cube. After a solid fifteen seconds without the grenade going off, I turned around and looked at it more thoroughly.

"I'm an idiot." I said while picking up the holographic computer. I then looked outside the room again, and the three soldiers smiled and waved just like I did. After a few seconds, I recognized one of them to be the woman I had acquired the pistol from; Specialist Hawkins. One of the men started to talk, but was interrupted by the ship's intercom.

"Atenção toda a tripulação humana, haverá um jantar formal obrigatório em uma hora. Não olhe para o gato alienígena se ela se juntar a nós. Isso é tudo." A male voice said. I looked at the three soldiers, who now had dire faces. Just to make things worse (Better for me) One of them was called on his radio, and left shortly afterwards.

"HEY, You're wearing Federation uniforms!" They both looked at me with puzzled faces, before the woman smacked the man in the arm and said something I couldn't hear. The man then pulled up a holographic display, which emanated from his helmet, and started typing away at it. Shortly after he began typing, the cube in my hand activated and displayed only one function. When I opened the app, a message had been received.

"Oh, it's a translator. Now I just have to wait for hunt and peck over there. HEY JACQUELINE, YOU CAN COME OUT NOW!" I shouted in the direction of the bathroom.

" _Admiral Crawford, it's been awhile since any of us have seen you. How are you doing?"_ Came through the message box just as the two soldiers looked up at me.

" _I'm doing just great considering the circumstances. Who are you people? And am I a prisoner?"_ I replied through the translator much faster that the two outside typed.

"Are you sure it's okay to be out here?" Jacqueline asked from behind me. I turned around and showed her the cube, then the two outside, who were hunt and pecking away.

"Yeah, it should be okay, they don't seem to mean us any harm as long as we're in here. I don't know about leaving though." I said as I turned back to the holographic translator, which had just made a little beep.

" _It's good that you're doing okay. You're not a prisoner, You're actually our honored guest. How's your heart doing?"_

"Jacqueline, see anything odd about the messages?" I asked while pointing to the hologram.

"Besides how unbelievable holograms are, nope." She replied while batting at the display.

"Okay, see how they answered the first question, but avoided the second one about who they are?"

"OH, Yeah I see it now. But why's that important?"

"It's a way for them to get more information from me than me from them."

" _Where did you find the cat?"_ Popped up. I then stepped out of the way so they could see Jacqueline.

"JACQUELINE." I said while gesturing to her. After a few seconds, they attempted to repeat what I said.

"Jak-len… Você acha que esse é o nome dela ou sua espécie." The woman said before typing away at the translator.

" _Is that her name?"_ Came up on the display. I nodded a few times before the man that had left a while ago returned with two white outfits.

"Você começou a falar com eles sem me deixar saber!?" The man with the outfits shouted authoritatively. Obviously he was the one in charge of the other two, because once he handed the clothes to the Specialist Hawkins, he opened his own display, which came out of his arm and started furiously typing away.

 _I'm very sorry for anything they may have said or did. My name is Staff Sergeant William Dunn, I'm in charge of overseeing your well-being. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. But please don't ask them, My boss would kill me. Oh, how's your heart doing? I haven't done open heart surgery in a while."_

" _Well Sergeant Dunn, they were of no trouble, so not to worry. My heart occasionally spasms for a few seconds, but other than that, it's okay. Where are we? I know this is a Majestic class interdictor, but you're wearing Federation armor. I've also seen a few ICT's. Care to explain?"_ I typed, then looked up at Sargent Dunn. After a few seconds of him reading my message, he started to type again.

" _Well, the federation armor and imperial clones are a really long story best left for my boss to explain. But long story short, The empire has been absorbed into the newly founded Human defense force. The woman you made cry, with the glowing tattoo. She's the leader of the HDF."_

"ELLIOT!" Jacqueline shrieked once she read the text.

"What, how was I supposed to know that." I replied while simultaneously typing another message. " _Why did she cry?"_

" _I shouldn't answer that, she should explain. I've brought you both clothes for the formal dinner we're having in about forty-five minutes. We'd really appreciate it if you came, But I have to go get ready myself, I'll be back in about half an hour to escort you to the dining hall if you choose to come."_ By the time I was done reading the message, Sergeant Dunn was standing in front of me while holding out both white outfits. Once I took them, he stood at full attention and saluted me.

"It's nice to see you again Admiral Crawford." Dunn said, much to my surprise. First, because he spoke whatever language mine had been changed to, and second because he said ' _nice to see you AGAIN.'_ Like we had met before. Nevertheless, I put the clothing in one arm and saluted with the other. With that, Sergeant Dunn and the other two soldiers walked away, I presume to get ready for the dinner. I then closed the door and unfolded the outfits on the bed. It was my Dress-white uniform, and a pure white dress for Jacqueline.

"Wow, they really know taste. Pure white, so extravagant." Jacqueline said sarcastically while holding up the dress to her shoulders.

"It's white because it's a navy formal dinner. Not for fashion." I replied while wondering how they managed to get my full dress white uniform. I continued to scrutinized the overcoat, looking for any sign of counterfeit awards. I spent about five or ten minutes in silence, before Jacqueline interrupted me.

"So, what do you think. I can't believe they got my dimensions right, and added a tail hole." Jacqueline said while spinning around so the dress would bow outward. I stood in total shock, she looked amazing. The dress was very modest, coming up to just under her neck, and not hugging her body to tight. But it still made her look Enthralling.

"Whoa… You look…" I was unable to finish my sentence, And Jacqueline's ears started to turn red from my staring.

"Elliot, you're staring at me." She muttered while walking up to me.

"You look positively Enchanting." I said, still in a slight daze.

"Well, just for that, I'm going to kiss you right on the mouth." She said while reaching around my neck.

"I'm okay with that." I mumbled back.

Once our lips pressed against each other, Jacqueline slipped her tongue into my mouth. Just like the first time, I squirmed a little, but Jacqueline held me tight and started to probe around. I didn't know what to do, it was like throwing a baby into a pool and expecting it to swim. Nevertheless, Jacqueline continued to feel around my mouth with her rough tongue. After a while, I started to figure out what I was suppose to do and our tongues danced around, occasionally switching whose mouth they danced in. Man she tasted good, I don't know how someones mouth could taste good, but hers sure did.

"If we keep this up, we'll never make it to the dinner." I whispered while holding her tight against my body.

"I'm okay with that."

"Yeah, but we really should go. It'd be a gesture of good faith to show up."

"Okaaayyyyy." She whined while sitting on the bedside. I then grabbed the uniform, and changed in the bathroom. Once I had everything situated properly, I realized I was missing the decorative sword. I debated it for a moment or two, deciding that it would be fine to just not wear the sword. Once I walked out and Jacqueline saw me in the uniform, it was a complete role reversal.

"What do you think? I don't have the sword but this should be fine." I said while correctly adjusting the admiral's hat.

"Wow, that's a lot of medals."

"I suppose, but I really don't care about them anymore." I said while glancing at the many circular awards.

"What's the one around your neck?"

"It's called the medal of honor. I have another one right here for a separate action, but this would be the most current one."

"Oh, cool." She said with a smile. "What about the white gloves and shoes?"

"That's just what the uniform includes. Shall we go?" I said while forming a hook with my arm. Jacqueline nodded and hitched her arm around mine. Once I walked up to the door, which was now unlocked, it automatically opened to reveal Sergeant Dunn in his dress whites, par for a set of tactical glasses. He started typing in the air, and shortly after, the translator I set on the nightstand popped up a message. I mentally face palmed while jogging to the small cube, reading the message while I walked back.

" _Are you ready to go? I forgot to give you the dress sword the first time around, just don't decapitate anyone. Also, Jacklyn looks nice. Also, Also, the woman that you made cry, her name is Satcom for the time being."_ When I looked up to the Sergeant, he had a friendly smile spread across his face while he held out the sword.

" _Yes, we are ready to go. Her name's spelled Jacqueline, not Jacklyn."_ I replied once I had fastened the sword. I then drew the Graphite black, single wall carbon Nanotube (SWCNT) sword and activated the plasma edge. Dunn took a few defensive steps back while I swung the sword in a figure eight pattern, expertly sheathing it afterwards.

"That's fancy, it's like a light sword from the star battle movies." Jacqueline chirped from a few feet behind me.

"It's not light, but a magnetized neon gas. We call these swords Swecent Sabers. Because they use a single wall carbon nanotube structure."

"I only understood about half of that, but whatever." Jacqueline said while hitching her arm around mine. I then gestured to Sergeant Dunn to lead the way, which he did. When we reached the dinner hall, most people were served but hadn't touched their food as a show of respect; The Imperial soldiers were clearly distinguishable from the federation due to their uniforms being a light gray instead of white. Dunn lead us to a table at the head of the very spacious room, where two people were already seated. First was the woman in the photo with me, Satcom. The second man I couldn't see, but he was desperately trying to get something across to Satcom. I then made my presence known, causing the two to rise as a show of respect.

I pulled Jacqueline's chair out for her and she sat down with a smile. I was also starting to get suspicious of the Elderly man that hadn't shown his face to me yet, but dismissed it and took my seat. Almost immediately. Food was brought to our table, consisting of a thanksgiving dinner type arrangement. There was chicken, mash potatoes, gravy, stuffing, and a few other odds and ends that didn't go with thanksgiving; just like the Chicken.

"Você realmente deve mostrar seu rosto antes que ele fica muito suspeito." Satcom said to the man, who STILL hadn't shown his face. After a few seconds and a long sigh from the old man, he turned towards me.

I Instantly shot up from my seated position and drew the sword, swinging it at the man. Just before I reached his neck, another blade stopped mine. It was Satcom. If she was defending that monster of a man, she was a clear enemy. I held the pressure on her blade for a few seconds while I observed the surroundings. Everyone had stopped their talking and gave us their undivided attention, but no one dared to intervene. Jacqueline had stood up and moved behind me, which was probably for the best.

"Valte to saber kato!" _Put the saber down!_ Satcom shouted authoritatively in Greek. My response was retracting the sword and going in for a strike at a mirror angle to my first attack. Once again my sword was blocked, but something that I thought was odd was the man I was trying to decapitate simply had his eyes closed, Almost waiting for death.

"Gamóto óchi! Axízei na pethánei gia ó, ti ékane se ména!" _Fuck no! He deserves to die for what he did to me!_ I shouted back while maneuvering around the table for a better attack.

"Xéro Paterus axízei na pethánei, allá oi kairoí allázoun. Chreiazómaste ton zontanó. Thymitheíte Urban Lotus." _I know he should die, but times are changing. We need him alive. Remember Urban Lotus._

The instant my mind processed Urban Lotus, my body went limp and I collapsed on the floor. Any attempts to move were met with a sharp pain that ran through every inch of my body.

"What did you do to me!?" I asked in a panicky voice. Satcom didn't answer, only calmly walking over to me with the Swecent saber still activated, she then reached to one of her back pockets and pulled out a photo. Upon seeing the image, My vision flashed bright pulses of light and my breathing started to go ragged. After a while of this, the woman held out another photo, and my mind was filled with images of times, places, events, Hundreds of thousands of pictures flashed in my mind, followed by a few that blocked the others. They were images of the woman, things we did together... They were all memories. Every single photo was a memory I had lost from the corruption of my D.D.N.A.M. I then realized my calculations of the Acceleration rate were faulty. I wasn't in stage two, which was simple motor failures. I was in stage three… Memory loss and organ failure. One of the other things to come back was my understanding of English. Although I still knew Greek and Whatever the animals of BYA AOB QM-V D2-5 Called their language, I remembered English.

"Wow that hurt." I said in English while sitting upright.

"Do you remember now?" The woman asked with hopeful eyes.

"I… remember everything." I uttered in a trance, memories still occasionally flashing before me. "I… I'm so sorry I didn't remember you." I said as tears filled both of our eyes. In that moment, Satcom dropped her saber and hugged me as tight as she possibly could.

"I missed you so much all those years I spent in exile." She whimpered out before convulsing from her tears. I too began to shake while I cried. How could I ever have forgotten who she was, but nevertheless. I still had to make sure it was really her.

"Elliot… What's happening?" Jacqueline asked hesitantly.

 **(Author's note: Okay I might remove this later on. Jacqueline and all the Mammals from Zootopia speak their version of English, but it sounds Romanian to Humans. Humans speak English, but it sounds Portuguese to the Zootopians. Satcom speaks Greek and English. Elliot speaks all three languages. English, Zootopian, and Greek. I think that covers the mental shit storm I'm attempting not to screw up.)**

"I- _Sniff-_ I remember everything." I replied while hugging Satcom. After a good five minutes of us holding each other, we parted and stood up. Jacqueline was looking at me with a puzzled face, the entirety of the dinner room was also watching us. But it didn't matter to me. "I don't want to do this now, but shirt off."

With a reluctant sigh, Satcom took off her entire upper clothing, leaving her without even a bra. She then turned around so her back was facing me. I put my thumbs on either side of her spinal cord and ran down the length of it. What happened next caused a gasp from Jacqueline.

Satcom's entire back illuminated Orange with a very long string of numbers and letters. _"49 44 3a 20 4a 75 64 69 74 68 20 46 2e 20 42 72 65 6e 6e 65 72 0d 0a 53 45 58 3a 20 46 65 6d 61 6c 65 0d 0a 54 72 61 69 6e 69 6e 67 20 6c 65 76 65 6c 3a 20 38."_

"It really is you." I mumbled once I completed reading the numbers.

"Yes it's me, now turn around." She ordered.

By the time I had removed my upper clothing, She had redressed herself. Jacqueline maneuvered around to see my back, and when Satcom ran her thumbs down each side of my spinal chord, my back illuminated Orange with different numbers and letters.

 _"_ _49 44 3a 20 4a 6f 73 68 75 61 20 46 2e 20 41 62 72 61 6d 73 0d 0a 53 45 58 3a 20 4d 61 6c 65 0d 0a 54 72 61 69 6e 69 6e 67 20 6c 65 76 65 6c 3a 20 31 36."_

Satcom let out a small squeak before turning me around and hugging me as tightly as she could.

"I missed you so much."

"I missed you too." I replied while hugging her, shirtless and without shame.

"Elliot, Obviously you remember something, who is she?" Jacqueline said while looking at my eyes.

After a lengthy time of me staring back into Jacqueline eyes, I answered. "She's my wife."


	19. Chapter 19: Choices

_Chapter Nineteen: Choices_

 _Every person has free choice. Free to obey or disobey the Natural Laws. Your choice determines the consequences. Nobody ever did, or ever will escape the consequences of their choices._

* * *

"She's my wife." I muttered and in an instant, Jacqueline's arms dropped to her side limply while her ears laid completely flat.

"W-what?" She asked quietly, almost hoping I would say something different.

"She-uhh… Judith's my wife, the one I told you about…" I replied in somber tone while letting go of Judith. (Formerly Satcom)

"I-I need to go." Jacqueline replied while walking away in a random direction. As she walked away, I could see her rubbing at an eye with her forearm.

"Elliot, what did you say?" Judith asked while turning me around to face her.

"I told her who you are and how your my wife."

"… You two are a thing, aren't you?" She whispered with a smile on her face.

"Well sorta."

"Then go show her you're hers, you know I'll be here whenever you need me. But she'll only be there for so long." Judith said while slightly nudging me in the direction of Jacqueline, who just rounded the corner.

"But we're married." I said with a surprise.

"Oh please, you know that was a mistake… NOW GO!" Judith said while firmly pushing me in the direction of Jacqueline, who had long since disappeared. I gave her an appreciative smile before darting away, shirtless and all.

I roamed the many empty halls for no less than an hour looking for Jacqueline, finding nothing other than locked corridors and the occasional ICT, or ICP. When I asked about her, they seemed to be clueless on even what she looked like. How could that be, I figured everyone would at least be sent a picture or sketch of what she looked like for identification purposes. Nevertheless, I continued to search around the gravity ring, figuring she wouldn't venture past its borders. I eventually made it to the clone section, where the Various sizes of clones were having their own formal dinner. The instant they saw me, everyone rose and saluted, some people even had food in their hands when they did so.

"As you were." With that, everyone resumed their chatting and joyous activities save for a high ranking Imperial Clone officer, who walked up to me. The clone looked just like all the other ICO's in the room, standing about five foot eleven (1.8 meters) and having light brown hair with brown eyes.

"How may I help you Admiral Crawford?"

"Wow, it's been awhile since I've been called that…" I muttered to myself while reminiscing on the memories I had regained. "RIGHT! Have you seen a Snow leopard walk by within the last few hours or so?"

"Uhh can't say I have sir. But then again I don't know what a snow leopard is. Perhaps if you explained what it looks like." The ICO said while standing in a parade rest stance. Of course they wouldn't know what a snow leopard looked like, they went extinct in the Mid 2040s.

"You know what a large predatory cat looks like, right?

"Affirmative Sir."

"Okay give me an example of one to go off of."

After a lengthy session of umm's and uhh's, he came up with an answer. "The Cougar."

"Okay, imagine that, but far more fluffy and it's colored white with black spots. She's wearing a pure white dress as well."

"I'm confused Sir. How could this cat be wearing a white dress? I I'm not mistaken, cat's walk on all fours."

"URRGG, never mind the dress. Have you seen the cat or not?" I asked with impatience.

"Not that I can recall sir. Would you like me to ask the rest of the IC's?"

"Yes Please."

With that, the Ico started flicking the air, which must have had an invisible display out for him. After a few seconds of the flicking and tapping, he began to talk, which was broadcasted through the Clone section of the gravity ring.

"Attention all Clones, there is a Predatory cat on the loose within the gravity ring. Subdue with extreme caution."

"NO!"

"What, you wanted to find it. Now every clone will be looking."

"Dammit, give me the mic."

With a few more taps in the air, the Clone gestured that the microphone was on.

"Belay that order, Just locate the cat and report it to one of the Admirals, do NOT approach her." I said with a glare directed to the clone, who had made a loud gulping sound. Without any further words, I continued my search, starting to worry that I wouldn't ever find Jacqueline. I searched and searched and searched some more but found nothing. On the third time I entered the Human dining hall, Judith stopped me while holding out some more suitable clothing for my search, a dark gray, long sleeved compression shirt and some compression pants that matched. Once I was changed and gave her my dress white shoes and gloves, she gave me a pair of magnetic shoes.

"I'm sure you'll find her eventually, I have _MY_ men searching for her, but they haven't found anything. I'd say you found quite the woman if my best men can't locate her… She is a woman right?"

"They call women females, or the species specific name, and Men males, or the species specific name. Like Hen or Rooster."

"So there's more species besides her?" Judith asked with a mixture of curiosity and excitement.

"Hundred's. It's a little weird actually, they have every species from a Pre two-thousand Earth."

"HUH, That's suspicious. Do you think we could be in a simulation?"

"Well, it's not impossible, but I don't really care. Look, I'll check back in another hour or two, but I'm going to keep looking." I said while walking off once again. Judith waived goodbye and sat back down in the now empty dining hall, where she began to look at a holographic computer.

I eventually decided that Jacqueline was either being aided by someone or she was constantly changing her position within the ship because I had now scoured every inch of the non-gravitational ring without finding her. By this time, eight hours had passed that I had been looking for her and I was running out of energy. Literately, my arm was running out of energy already due to using the electric discharge on Esmond. With great amounts of reluctance, I wandered back to the room we were corralled into, which I had found out was Admiral Paterus's room. When I sat down at the desk, I pulled off my arm and hard plugged it into an outlet for faster charging. I began to think of a way I could reach Jacqueline other than blasting my voice throughout the entire ships intercom. I thought of writing an apology note, then taping it to the corridors in hope she would see one of them.

"No, that would be a waste of time… Come on, this should be a breeze. It's one untrained cat on a ship full of humans." I said to myself while staring blankly at the wall in front of me. After another few minutes of my mind going completely blank, the lights shut off, sending my into darkness, save for the charging light on my detached arm. "Esmond, I'm telling you right now, if you can't tell me where Jacqueline is, I don't care."

"It's just your mind again." Said a younger version of Judith from behind me. Once I turned around, I could see her standing in combat armor.

"What now, I fixed my mind."

"Just saying hello, Now that you know I'm here, I figured I'd say hello every now and then."

"Well how about you don't cuz I'll think I'm going crazy. But if you can help me find her, be my guest."

"Just use the intercom." My subconscious replied.

"I don't want to. I need to explain in person, otherwise it's not personal. Look, if your me, then you know what I'm feeling right now. I have my wife on one hand that I've been missing for years now. And I have Jacqueline on the other, the one who I've fallen in love with. Part of me wants to spend time with Judith, but the other wants to make things okay with Jacqueline. Judith even approves that I love Jacqueline, but I still want to see her… I just don't know what to do." I said in a now mopey tone.

"Go with your heart, it's the obvious choice. Tactically it would be far more suitable to dump Jacqueline and get close to Judith due to her training, but you're already like brother and sister so that's invalid…. Goodbye for now, but if you ever need to talk to yourself, you know where to call. OH, and you didn't completely fix our mind." My subconscious said just as the figure of younger Judith disappeared, strangely the lights were still off. I wondered why they had turned off, debating a timer, the light burning out, someone turning it off remotely, but in the end it didn't matter. They were off and I couldn't turn them on.

Luckily, Sargent Dunn had given me a pair of tactical glasses a few hours after I stared searching for Jacqueline. When I put them on and activated the vision enhancement overlay, I was half expecting someone to be standing there, but nope, nothing other than pitch dark Room.

"Attention all crew, prepare for hyperspace." Came through the intercom just as a red light illuminated the room; The glasses automatically disabled the night vision overlay, so I didn't need to press anything. I recognized the voice as Admiral Paterus, who I still had a hard time believing Judith would have forgiven after what he did to me. I sure wasn't going to forgive him anytime soon, but I'd indulge Judith and not decapitate him. The next thing to cross my mind was why were we going into hyperspace, and where was the destination.

"Hyperspace jump in Five… Four… Three… Two… One." The moment Paterus said one, I felt a tingling feeling run through my body, indicating the witch space drive had activated.

-=Zootopia POV=-

* * *

"Chief Bogo to all units, status report."

"We have the craft in sight sir. It's a large black cylindrical ship with two swept wings." A police officer from a circling helicopter stated.

"This is Hopps and Wilde reporting, I can confirm H-1's assessment. The ship appears to be several blocks long and at least one block wide sir." Judy said though the radio of their Squad car.

Once Alex had defeated Elliot in their battle, he headed to Zootopia and destroyed several city blocks with ease; Most of his targets were high explosives and gas stations, causing massive gas fires to reign free in the city. The graphite Imperial cutter now loomed over almost the entire lake, casting an ominous shadow over the palm hotel that cut though the morning light. The Zootopia police had set up a perimeter around the lake along with having several police helicopters circling the massive Craft. Alex had put the ship into a hover and had the turreted class one pulse lasers shoot down anything that came within a hundred feet of the ship; nothing had done so yet.

He was currently enjoying his own version of gladiatorial battles consisting of kidnapped mice from Little Rodentia and Tarantulas of various sizes. He had made small, rodent sized swords and shields for the mice to use in battle; You'd think it was some kind of historic replica of the Roman coliseum because of the detail. The current battle was between a family of four mice and one shrew pitted against four brown tarantulas.

Alex had pulled up a chair and was drinking a beer while he watched.

"This is the Zootopia Police department, Land the craft and come out with your paws up!" Came throughout the ships awareness systems, which broadcasted any sound through the ship along with simulating sounds in space. Alex let out a low grumble as he stood up and walked to the nearest intercom.

"Sod off ya wankers." He blasted through the external megaphones, which broadcasted at almost 300 decibels.

"You should return to the cockpit Alex." Achmentha said as he phased into the almost empty SRV hanger.

"No, you should grab a beer and watch this, it's quite amusing."

" _Sigh_ … Crawford's still alive and he's coming here as we speak."

"WHAT, I destroyed his reactor!"

"Yes, then his wife saved him."

"… Bitch." He hissed while gulping down the rest of the beer. Alex then stood up and walked towards the Cockpit, which is located at the bow of the ship instead of the aft like the Federal Corvettes. Upon arrival, he found one of the police helicopters hovering a few hundred feet in front of the ship. Inside the helicopter held a pilot, copilot, and two snipers, one on each side that were wielding powder charge marksman rifles.

"HA HAHAHA… Idiots." He said while targeting the small MD-500 helicopter. Once the Hardpoints had deployed and were aiming at the helicopter, he could see the pilot's eyes widen. The helicopter immediately veered away from his ship, but it didn't matter. With one quick squeeze of the trigger, 4 class two turreted pulse lasers incinerated the unarmored craft.

"Shots fired, multiple officers down!"

"That's it, I'm calling the MBI." Chief Bogo said while picking up the phone. Upon speaking with the director of the MBI about the situation, he was informed that a prototype weapon was being transported as they speak.

"Are you sure it's up to the task? This thing hasn't been damaged by anything we've thrown at it. We're pretty sure it has a shield like in the movies."

"Chief, I can assure our tomahawk missiles are quite up to the task." the Mammal on the line replied calmly.

Back on the ground, the Zootopia swat teams were reaching the burning wreck that used to be the police MD-500; The helicopter had hit the ground just feet away from the oasis lake and was starting to slide in. When the swat teams made visual contact with the helicopter, it wasn't pretty. The entire fuselage was like grated cheese mixed with blood and guts. The pulse lasers had blown right thorough the engine and fuel tanks, causing a catastrophic engine failure, followed by a detonation of the fuel.

"This is ZPD Swat team three… No survivors found at the crash sight. No bodies to bring back either." The team leader said grimly.

"Maybe they Ejected." Officer Hopps said optimistically.

"You don't understand. There isn't anything left of a body to bring back. It's just, just awful…" The swat team leader said with horror. "Swat team three returning to original post."

The entire police radio frequency went dead silent for a good ten seconds while they processed what had happened.

"So Carrots, still think Elliot's still a kind and caring individual?" Nick asked with spite.

"It can't be him up there. We know his personality, and I know he cares too much to do this to an innocent Mammal." Officer Hopps said, attempting to convince herself that Elliot wasn't to blame.

Just as Nick was going to reply, the experimental Zootopian Tomahawk missiles came over the horizon from the hills to the North west; Just past Tundra town. They made a distinctive Khhhrrrrr rocket sound as they flew above Zootopia at near supersonic speeds.

The missiles were flying in low and fast, five in total we're headed toward Alex's ship and it seemed like they would surely destroy the looming craft. The ZBI Director was right, a single Tomahawk missile would take down the Ships shields and the second would rip apart it's armor. But the thing is… The Clipper can fight back. Alex had noticed the incoming misses on his radar and pre-charged the ECM Utility mount. Once the first Tomahawk was within fifty meters, he deployed the ECM, sending three of the five guided missiles off target and into the surrounding ground. One on the Tomahawks hit the Oasis hotel, razing the massive mammal made palm tree to the ground. The two remaining Tomahawks that hadn't been affected by the ECM were screaming towards the Clipper. But once again, with just a flick of Alex's finger, two point defense turrets opened fire with green plasma, Sinking the remaining chance of victory for the Zootopians.

"HAHAHAHAHA… You animals actually think you can take down my ship with such primitive weapons. Now that you have shown me all that you can throw... I will return the favor." Alex said through the megaphone, which was loud enough for all of Zootopia to hear. The graphite ship started to rotate counterclockwise until it was facing towards the majority of the police force. It then angled down twenty or thirty degrees, facing it directly at the police.

"Now you die." He said while aiming the class four plasma accelerator at the now fleeing police. Just as his finger rested on the trigger, something caught his attention.

"Warning, Capital class signature detected." Rang through the cockpit.

A massive purple and black cloud of gas that was filled with lightning had Just appeared off the coast of Zootopia. After a few seconds of an empty cloud, the white tip of the INV Imperial freedom poked through, soon to be followed by the rest of the ship. Once the entire ship was through the portal, an ear piercing fog horn blew though hundreds of miles of land, indicating the witch space portal was collapsing. All of Zootopia's attention instantly turned towards the flying city that was casting a shadow over most of Zootopia. News helicopters began to reroute their flight paths from Alex's ship to the INV Imperial freedom.

"This is the Imperial Navy Vessel Imperial freedom commanding all personal in the area to submit at once. This is your first and only warning." Judith said through an even louder megaphone than Alex's ship.

"Good luck getting out of this one." Achmentha said just before disappearing from the cockpit.

The Capital ship had trained every weapon within its aiming arc onto the Cutter, which was tiny in comparison. In return, the cutter retracted its hardpoints while landing just next to the lake as a show of surrender. Of course the police started closing in on the front landing gear, which housed the personnel entrance.

Elliot had been called to the Upper dignitary hanger bay, which had held his destroyed Corvette. Along with that, there were a few hundred ICT's waiting in formation near the shielded airlock. At the head of the fully kited Company, Judith was wearing her EXO-35 flying falcon while Elliot's matching gear was at her feet.

"Hey I'm sorry for having to call you, but you're the only translator we have right now." Judith said while picking up Elliot's G-suit.

"Yeah, I know... Let's just get this over with." He replied while stepping into the G-suit onesie. By the time Elliot had the whole G-suit on, The ICT's transport had arrived.

"Did you make that?" He asked while looking at the dark tan robot crawl around the outside of the capital ship.

"Nope. But it's a pretty good Idea, right? The federation hasn't even given it an official name yet, right now it's just a Scorpion Assault drone."

Elliot only nodded in understanding while he watched the ICT company clamber on top of the Dark tan assault drone. Once everyone was loaded and secured, it moved back outside the airlock where it prepared to jump the several hundred meters from the ship to the beach below.

"Who's controlling it?"

"My copy of Sam. I would have just used yours and let you keep looking for Jacqueline, but She's still in data recovery mode." Judith said while deploying her Multicam Arid wingsuit.

"Seems legit." Elliot replied while deploying his identical wingsuit, which was also pre-colored to Multicam Arid.

Once The two Crawfords circled the Assault drone a few times and the ICT's checked in ready, they deployed. Judith and Elliot almost immediately reached supersonic speeds while the rest of the assault forces were free falling aboard the Scorpion assault drone; Once the drone neared the ground, six thrusters activated that were hidden within its legs, slowing the 100 meter long robot to a manageable landing speed. When the drone hit the sandy beaches, the two hundred and forty men held on for dear life while the scorpion accelerated to fifty meters per second over the sand dunes. By the time the drone had visual confirmation of Alex, the Crawfords had already landed and were aiming their dual eye tracking beam lasers at the police, who in turn attempted to subdue the two Admirals. Judith had stayed silent through the ordeal, knowing that she would only add confusion to the situation by speaking in an unknown language. It also didn't help that there were many police sirens going off as well as dozens of news helicopters from as far away as Bunnburrow circling overhead.

"ZPD, Get On The Ground, NOW!" One of the swat members ordered while she aimed her Gunpowder firearm at Elliot.

 **(** **See What I've Become - Zack hemsey)**

"You are far outmatched, outgunned, and outnumbered! Release the Human immediately!" Elliot commanded while he aimed the beam lasers at the swat by simply looking at them. Officer Hopps and Wilde were busy loading Alex onto the armored prisoner truck when they heard Elliots' shouting. They quickly transferred prisoner authority to one of the other swat teams and ran to where the sound was emanating from. When they rounded the last police cruiser, a mixture of shock, fear, amazement, and curiosity washed over the two partners. The assault Scorpion had reached the Crawfords and The ICT's were expertly deploying to the left and right of the police line. Once a good firing position was established, specialized units carrying multi hundred pound rectangular prisms pulled the objects off their backs, only to slam them into the sand; Once two or more had slammed into the sand, a metallic gray fluid ran inbetween the nodes, creating an instant wall with dozens of pre-made shooting positions.

The ICT's had made a four pronged formation around the ZPD. To the left of the Crawfords held half of the assault force, which was safely hidden behind the mobile barricade nodes. Nearly a two-hundred and twenty C-PAC's (Condensed Plasma Accelerator), munitions, and laser weaponry were aimed at the police. The dozens of small shooting holes that were formed in the wall had been filled with at least one weapon if not more.

To the right of the Crawfords held the remaining ICT forces, who did an almost identical formation with the Nanite wall and firing line, aiming another mixture of weaponry at the ZPD. The Scorpion had laid back about fifty feet and had it's tail mounted, class three multicannon spooled up, ready to sling 117 millimeters of H.E.I (High explosive incendiary) at the police. Along with its tail mounted chain gun, the right pincer held a class three beam laser and the left pincer contained a new class three railgun, which was unique to the drone.

"Surrender while you still have the chance!" Elliot Yelled authoritatively.

Without another word, the police slowly but surely dropped their weapons and kneeled with their paws clasped behind their heads. Almost instantly, the ICT's swarmed the police, corralling them in the middle of the sand where the Scorpion could watch them. Judith and Elliot were just outside the transport van where Alex was being held, along with a six mammal swat team guard. With just a slight nod, Elliot deregulated his arm and punched a sizable dent into the armored door, followed by him ripping the door clean off.

Inside was a gruesome sight… Alex had dismembered most of the swat team, and the ones that hadn't been pulled apart by his brute strength were cut to pieces by the nanoblades that protruded from his robotic arms. The floor was drenched in blood and when the door opened, crimson flowed forth like a river. Alex was standing inside with blood drenched clothing and a smile spread across his face.

"So glad you could join me. Shall we get this party started, oh wait, I already have." He said while whipping two black anodized S&W 500 pistols from his thighs, followed by him firing all twelve 700 grain rounds into the Crawfords chests. "Well shit, that's not very fair now is it." He said while holstering the two pistols; The Non-Newtonian armor that the two Admirals were wearing had stopped the hardened steel rounds without as much as a scratch.

"Out!" Elliot yelled while he pointed to the ground next to him. Alex did as he commanded and stood in front of the admirals with that same smile spread across his face. In an instant, Alex lashed out at Elliot, hitting him in the chest with ten thousand newtons of force. The reaction was his robotic arm crying out in protest as it struck the God-like armor. Elliot and Judith subdued Alex withing a few milliseconds after his vain attack by kicking out a robotic leg and pulling him to his knees. Each Admiral held onto an arm with enough strength to crush bone while they dragged him back into the open; The reason they were capable of such feats of strength was due to the G-suits having a small exoskeleton embedded. This allowed Judith to lift up to six-hundred pounds, which was nothing to what the ICT's could do with their full strength exoskeleton armor.

The empire had always been at the forefront of nanotechnology, creating massive structures from nothing, like the portable walls the ICT's used. They had made things like the RSK using Nanites, but the Federation was always at the forefront of Artificial intelligence and biological engineering. I'm not talking about creating a living things in a tube, anyone with enough stem cells and the right computing system could do that. but modifying one's genetic code to what is desired was a more complex process, due to having to rip apart each individual chromosome, change a few proteins and put it back together while keeping the organism alive.

When the police saw the two fully camouflaged Humans escorting Alex away, they protested quite loudly. "YOU CAN'T JUST LET THAT MONSTER GO FREE!"

"Oh we don't intend to." Elliot said while looking at the officer that had outcried.

"Think here's as good a place?" Judith asked Elliot, who nodded in approval. The two then forced Alex to his knees before Judith retrieved an item from one of the ICT squad leaders. Upon her return with a long, golden and embroidered bag, she pulled out a Swecent Saber before handing it to Elliot. "May it be your hand Sir." Judith said while kneeling with the saber above her head.

"Thank you…. _Ahem…_ State your full name for the record."

"Fuck you ma-gee."

"Well Fuck you Ma-gee, you are being charge with the attempted murder of a federation fleet Admiral, how do you plea?"

"Attempted. HAHAHA." Alex replied before lunging at Elliot with his Nano-blades deployed. In one swift movement, Elliot sliced off the Nano-blades with the Swecent saber and Spartan kicked Alex several feet through the air.

"State for the record you are guilty of attempted murder of a fedeation fleet admiral." Elliot said while he swung the graphite saber in a figure eight a few times before he sheathed the saber in a fluent motion.

"I plea innocent." He said with a smile that said _'_ _I'm going to be a bitch till the end.'_

"Overruled… Fuck you Ma-gee, I hereby sentence you to death… Any last words?" Elliot said while moving into the correct position to make a clean cut.

"Yeah, only one thing. You're a fool for thinking I'd be so easy to capture." He said just before jumping about thirty feet in the air, followed by running towards the ruins of the fallen Palm hotel. Elliot Immediately deactivated the Senescent saber and tossed it to the nearest clone. Then both Admirals took flight in pursuit of Alex, who was running at seemingly impossible speeds. Along the way, Alex reloaded his pistols with neon gas filled cartridges. "Damn, gotta love the plasma rounds for these." He muttered to himself before shooting at Judith, who was the lead in their chase. With two shots, He landed direct center and her left leg, causing Judith to crash among the smoky wreckage of the hotel. One of the only weakness of the G-suit armor was heat, sure you could walk through fire and get hit with kinetic energy all day and be fine, but getting hit with something hotter that the surface of the sun was too much. Thermal weaponry like the Plasma accelerator would heat up the armor, forcing the wearer to strip it off or face burns and possible fusing of the suit to their skin. Elliot immediately veered away from Alex to help Judith remove the heating up G-suit. The suit would attempt to dissipate the heat over the rest of it's surface, but in the end it would heat the suit up to at least 400 degrees Fahrenheit, cooking the wearer alive. (204c)

Judith had stripped the Wingsuit off but was having trouble with the zippers on each side of her rib cage. "The damn zippers caught!"

"ICP Wings one though nineteen, locate and eliminate the target!" Elliot ordered while he helped Judith get the zipper unstuck. One of the zippers teeth had come out of alignment and it was preventing the zipper from sliding freely. By this time Judiths' suit was starting to steam in different areas, yet she didn't audibly note that she was being burned. "Nomad one requesting medivac to our location. Nomad two's been hit… Dammit! I Cant get it off!" The problem with trying to force anything on the suit was the more you pushed, the harder it resisted.

"Elliot, slow calm movements. You can do it." Judith said reassuringly while she gazed at him with her light green eyes. One quick look back and he could see how much pain she was in. With one last jostle of the zipper, it came unstuck and zipped the rest of the way down. The second her arms were out of the suit, Elliot yanked on the attached shoes, pulling the proverbial oven from his wife. Judith's entire body was covered in severe burns, save for her face and head.

"WHERE'S MY FUCKING MEDIVAC!?" Elliot shouted, mostly in fear for his long lost companion.

"Admiral, the VTOL is in the clearing just one-hundred meters south of your position. Medical crew's are on standby." Just as the ICO finished his sentence, a squad of Men and women wearing smooth black armor appeared out of thin air around Elliot and Judith. Elliot immediately deployed his lasers in fear that they took orders from Alex.

"Whoa there Crawford, its Sergeant Dunn. Do you remember me?" Dunn asked, half expecting Eliot's answer to be no.

"Yeah I remember. Get her shit, were leaving." Elliot said while preparing to lift Judith onto a floating stretcher they had brought. Dunn looked at the smoking G-suit for a few seconds, attempting to come up with a way to transport it without burning himself.

"How am I suppose to carry this thing?"

"Use your rifle, a stick, your dick, I don't care, just pick it up." Elliot replied while grabbing Judith's arms. "Ya ready?"

"Aww, this is gonna be a biAHHHAAAHAHAHHA!…... You're an ass sometimes." Judith muttered once Elliot had stopped moving her.

"I know." Elliot replied while pushing the stretcher towards the exaction point. Dunn had picked up the Smoking G-suit with his Ar-335's muzzle and Hawkins had thrown the Wingsuit over her shoulders. The HDF infiltration forces were having a quite difficult time with keeping up with Elliot while he sprinted over the mixture of concrete, steel and sand wreckage of the fallen oasis hotel.

The news helicopters were still circling the Entire area, attempting to find the most important thing going on. This was proving a difficult task due to having the choice of Filming the captured police, the city sized ship flying off the coast, or the large robot that was acting as the prison guard for the aliens. A few more ZPD helicopters had flown over, but were quickly forced down by the dozens of Imperial fighters that were scouring the city to find Alex. The fighters hadn't bothered the News helicopters yet, but they received several warning about the capital ships exclusion zone; The way the INV overcame the language barrier was simple… Aim a rail driver at the helicopter when it was too close. That got the message across pretty quickly.

The rest of the city was turning to anarchy due to panic incited from the media and the lack of police to stop them. Fire trucks had even been called to act a crowd control vans, they used the large water cannon on top to push back any sized mammal that dared to challenge its water pressure.

* * *

-=ZNN News helicopter POV=-

"Things seem mostly unchanged for the moment, the alien Mothership deployed its much smaller craft for unknown reasons, but it appears they're looking for something in the city."

"It's probably the Alien that the ZPD arrested just a few minutes ago." The newscaster from the ZNN headquarters replied to the helicopter.

"That could be Carol, But right now the ZPD seem to be completely incapacitated by the Invaders… Hold on, whats that down there?… No, to the left… It appears that the aliens suffered a casualty."

"It's about time we fought back." ZNN Headquarters replied with enthusiasm.

"We don't know exactly what happened, but as you can see folks, One of them is clearly on a stretcher."

"Can you get lower for a better look?" The ZNN broadcast station asked.

"We can try, but any attempts to get too close by the other helicopters ended in a warning."

As the helicopter descended towards the fallen Alien, the one pushing it glared towards the helicopter before handing the stretcher to another Alien that was close by. Another few seconds passed with the alien looking directly at the pilot.

"I don't think it likes us this close." The pilot warned.

"Don't be so-" The helicopters reporter was interrupted by the alien unfurling wings and launching straight at them. The pilot attempted to strafe left in a dodge attempt, but was met inch for inch. The alien was now hovering just inches away from the glass on the cockpit and the crew inside was terrified.

"Jerry, get that camera up here!"

The cameraman did as requested and faced the camera directly at the Spider looking Alien.

"Wow that one ugly thing isn't it?" ZNN Headquarters relayed into the helicopter.

"You said it." With those words, the winged creature flew to one of the open side doors and landed inside the helicopter. Once its wings had folded in and it had closed both rolling doors so the noise level inside would be lower, it spoke.

"You tell the rest of your helicopters to back off immediately or I'll shoot down every single one."

"You can't just do that. It's murder." The cameraman replied.

"Really, just watch me." He replied just as the scorpion assault drone leaped into the air and grabbed one of the helicopters, causing a large fireball from the ignited jet fuel. "Now you WILL Back off. Understand!?" The crew of the helicopter nodded in a panic while the pilot relayed the message to the ATC tower a few miles away. With that, the creature left the helicopter and flew back to the injured alien.

"...Nice going genius." The news reporter said to the cameraman.

* * *

-=Elliot POV=-

 **(End of an Era - Zack Hemsey)**

Judith was currently being loaded onto the VTOL, which I realized was her personal Vulture fighter. "How ya doing?" I asked with worry. The only response was a slight grumble saying she would live.

After the Vulture took off with the rest of the HDF, I returned to the ZPD Prisoners, who by now had stripped off most of their clothing from the heat. I noticed some were being shielded from the sun by other Officers, those probably had the worst of the heat exposure. "HEY, You have to let us get some water, he's dying here!" A rhinoceros Yelled at me.

"Do I really HAVE to. What could you possibly do to me that would MAKE me give you water?" I replied while continuing my walk towards Alex's landed Imperial Cutter. The rhino let out a loud huff before charging me at full speed. I waived the ICT's off while holding out my left hand in a brace. The rhino only grinned at me as it closed the distance, and boom… The rhino was stopped dead in it's tracks without me moving more than an inch back. Everything looked in awe of what had happened, a 180 pound human was able to stop a multi ton Rhino in a full sprint with just one arm and with ease. "You will sit PATIENTLY until I decide what to do with you. Until then I don't want another word.. AM I UNDERSTOOD!?" The response I received was not the one I was looking for. The group of about 120 Mammals of different sizes exploded in one single direction, toward me. Ha, of course they had made an escape plan, they were the police. But it would take a lot more than a charging heard of animals to escape.

"Take them down." I said through the radio in English. Within a second, about 150 ICT's Popped out of the sand in a full sprint towards the police, most unarmed for safety reasons; We wouldn't want the prisoners to obtain a gun now would we. I took flight, eventually landing on the Scorpions head, which was elevated about thirty meters in the air. The following brawl was relatively short lived with a few of the larger animals proving more difficult, but eventually every single one was taken down.

"NOW, How did that go for ya huh!? Just for your outburst, the five highest ranking officers among you shall be executed." One again the animals rebelled, but it was useless to resist the ICT's enhanced Strength combined with the Exoskeleton armor. After about three minutes of sorting, five animals had been pulled from the rest. Two wolves, a Tiger, a Polar bear and a Rabbit oddly enough. All five mammals were lined up in front of the rest while an imperial fighter had arrived with extra ICT's for backup. I jumped from the Scorpion drone and walked up to the clone who still had my Swecent saber. Once I retrieved the Saber and activated it in front of the Animals to be executed, most had tears in their eyes.

"The fear of death comes from the fear of life. One who has lived a full life is prepared to die at a moments notice... You five are being charge with the attempted escape from an Imperial Prisoner of war camp, How do you plea?" The reason I said Imperial prison camp was because the majority of the guards were in fact Empire soldiers.

"Guilty." One of the two wolves said. When I looked at the gray wolf, I saw no fear. "You are brave to say this. For your bravery you shall receive a painless death." I whispered in his ear. "State your name for the record."

"Head Detective Benedict Egan Wolford."

"Very well head Detective Benedict Wolford. I hereby sentence you to death for the attempted escape of a POW camp... Any last words?" I asked while raising the plasma lined saber behind his neck

"Tell my wife, I'll love her for all eternity." Wolford replied while closing his eyes.


	20. Chapter 20: Stage Four

_Chapter Twenty: Stage Four_

 _Don't let the sadness of your past and the fear of your future ruin the happiness of your present._

* * *

"Tell my wife, I'll love her for all eternity." Wolford replied while closing his eyes.

"ELLIOT PLEASE!" I heard come from another mammal that was to be executed. Several gasps came from the prisoners upon hearing this. How did any of them get my name, the only being from this planet I met was Jacqueline, and she couldn't have told the police anything.

"How did you get that name!?" I shouted while pointing the Saber at the tiny rabbit.

"It's me Elliot, your friend Judy."

"Friend, that's cute. If you'll excuse me, I have executions to perform. But don't worry, I'll get to you eventually." I replied while walking back to Detective Wolford, who was now looking at me instead of the ground in front of him.

"We met when you first came through the portal!" This stopped me, I had no recollection of a portal. Only the memory of waking up in the hospital with Jacqueline.

"I very well know you're just stalling the inevitable, but by all means explain how we're, ' _best buds'._ "

"Uh, well you said you came through a portal to get here and now you're stuck. You told us about… how your people... eat other mammals." At her utterance, several animals eyes widened along with gasps. They were probably thinking we might eat them; Then again, I could go for some fresh lamb chops right about now.

The rabbit had me quite intrigued, how could she have known this? "I will indulge your story Rabbit, you shouldn't have known that we eat other creatures, nor should you have known my name."

"Okay, um So after you told us that, me and Nick tried to arrest you, but you kinda almost killed us. BUT it was just a misunderstanding... After you let me go, you showed us your arm and how its not real... Then w-"

"One moment if you would. Which arm isn't real, because these seem pretty real to me." I said while moving each arm around.

"The _pant_ left one." A Fox said as he came through the crowd of prisoners from behind me.

"I suppose you're the other one the Rabbit spoke of?"

"Her * _pant*_ name is _*pant*_ Judy" He said while panting profusely, most likely a side effect from heat exhaustion.

"Regardless if this happened or not, you must pay for the crimes of your actions." I said while continuing towards Detective Wolford, who's hopeful expression faded away with each step through the desert sand.

"AND MY FATHER SHOT YOU!" The Rabbit yelled.

I ignored her outburst while I activated the Swecent saber. Why would she think THAT of all things would help the situation, but then again, untrained people tend to do foolish things when they're looking death in the eye.

With one final raising of the graphite saber, I gave the speech that all execution recipients were to hear. "While life can be both fun and adventurous, nothing is predictable but death. You may have had many goals and many destinations that you wish to reach. You may have reached most or even all of them, but there is one destination we all share and do not wish to think of. Whether it shall come soon or in the distant future is not for the individual to decide. So with these last words you hear, do not fret that you are going to die. You should focus on the joyous moments in life, the ones only you can remember, and the ones that will bring peace in this time of war… May God have mercy on your soul."

When I gazed down to the wolf, he had a smile across his face while his eyes remained shut. His fur slowly waved with the wind of the desert while a single tear ran down his face. It was good that the last things he thought weren't death. But of friends and family, people that have cared for him throughout life. "Tilt your head forward." The wolf did as I asked and looked at the ground directly in front of him.

With one fluent motion, a high pitched squeal rang throughout the area. I had cut the Detectives spinal cord straight down, splitting it in two along with separating the Brain stem. It would be a mostly painless death, something all deserved, but few received. When I re-sheathed the saber and looked up, every single police officer had a mix of hatred and strangely… confusion in their eyes. "If you are thinking how terrible I am and how this is all my fault… You are truly ignorant. Had you not tried to escape, I would have brought you water and shade, but now four more are to be executed because of your actions." By this time I had reached the next animal, a Tiger.

"State your name for the record." The only response from the male tiger was quiet sobs. "Like I said before, you should not be fearful of death. Now what is your name?"

"Lola Joyce Fangmeyer. Listen you don't understand why I can't die."

Huh, I was certain the tiger was a guy, it could just be a weird first name. "I'm sure you have a very good reason just like anyone else, but sobbing like a little kid doesn't look good when you die." I said calmly while walking behind the massive Tiger.

"I-I'm pregnant, Okay." I guess it's a she after all.

With a drawn out sigh, I put away the saber and walked over to one of the field medics that was standing guard. "Can you possibly check if that tiger is pregnant _right now_?"

"Maybe? It depends on how far the baby's along in the gestation period. I'd be using the portable X-ray to look for bone structure, so if it's more than a few weeks i should be able to see something."

"Could the radiation possibly hurt the baby?"

"It's highly unlikely Sir."

"Hmm… come with me." I said while walking back to the tiger. I then began to speak in the Zootopian language. "He's going to look for the baby, and if we don't find anything, I will be quite unhappy."

* * *

-=Medic ICT Pov=-

"Este prea devreme pentru o ecografie, nu vei vedea nimic." The Tiger replied a crying panic. I thought it was interesting that Admiral Crawford could fluently speak their language with no prior training.

"Structura osoasa incepe sa se dezvolte într-o săptămână a perioadei de gestație. Dacă știți gravidă, au trecut mai mult de o săptămână." Admiral Crawford replied. When I looked up from my medical bag, I could see the tigers face ever so slightly soften.

"Their language is quite interesting. How did you learn it Sir?" I asked while pulling the portable X-ray from my bag.

"Now isn't the time... Are you ready?"

"I do believe so Captain… I know this isn't my place to ask, but why are you doing this? We don't execute people for prison break attempts."

"You're right corporal, it isn't your place to ask." The way Crawford said that sent shivers down my titanium infused spine.

Once I had the X-ray booted up, I walked over to the kneeling Tiger. "I will need you to remove your shirt and stand up." The tiger only looked up with confusion.

"Ridică-te și ia tricoul jos." Crawford said a few seconds later. Once he said whatever he said, the Tiger rose and removed her shirt; Even with the slight incline we were on, She towered over me by at least a foot. As I put the box up to her stomach, she flinched, presumably from the cold metal.

"Almost done, just hold still." I said while taking the X-ray. Sure enough, there were several tiny skeletons.

When I showed the image to admiral Crawford, he let out a long and frustrated sigh.

"Pot sa vad?" The Tiger asked with a curious face.

"She wants to see." He said. When I held up the monitor, the tiger squeaked and grabbed the display from me.

"Take her to the prison hold aboard the Imperial Freedom, She is to have a stay of execution."

"Aye aye Captain!"

By the time I handcuffed the Tiger, the other animals started protesting along with the handcuffed Tiger attempting to break free.

When we crested the largest of the sand dunes, which was about a hundred meters away from where we were holding the other Animals, She started to plea with me… at least that's what it sounded like. "Unde mergem!?… De ce nu spui nimic!?" The tiger shouted.

"Listen, I don't speak your language okay, so shut up." Thankfully, this seemed to sate the animal… For about fifteen seconds.

"Cum se face să nu vorbesc aceeași limbă ca și alte mamifere?" The tiger asked in a curious tone. I attempted to hide a smirk from the first words she said. ' _Cum se face'_

"Ha..Haha….Hahahaha, I'm such a child sometimes." I said with a smile, a smile that was cut short by another round of loud protests in the distance, most likely signaling the Admiral had went through with it this time.

"Voi muri oricum, sunt eu?" The tiger said with her ears flat and tail tucked.

"Listen, I don't speak animal! The only one who can is Crawford… ICT One-six-five-nine of the INV Imperial freedom requesting transport, I have one prisoner in tow."

"Copy ICT One-six-five-nine, dispatching ICP wing three's Echo-four to your location."

Just a few seconds later, one of our bright white fighters flew over us in a hover; The fighters were quite interesting in design, being almost three times wider than in length.

Once the fighter landed on the beach, and the smell of fusing helium three had dissipated, I took in the sent of the salty air; Something us clones were usually deprived of was creature comforts, sure we got a few days off every now and then, but for the most part it was constant work, which is what we were grown for.

"So, how we gonna do this? Cuz you two sure as hell aren't sittin' in here with me." The pilot asked through the radio.

"Uhh… I suppose we can just ride on the top and you can land in one of the dig hangers."

"You sure that's a good idea?" He asked with skepticism.

"When did good come into the equation. We just need to get there, so go super slow, none of that drone shit."

"Acknowledged One-six-five-nine, goin' low and slow for yo bitch ass." The pilot replied with a grin from the cockpit.

"Cut the crap One-six and Echo-Four." One of the ICO's said through the radio.

"Alrighty, I know you can't understand me, but fuck it. We're going to ride on that... to the ship" I said while pointing to the waiting Fighter, then the Imperial Freedom. The tigers response was confusion for a second, then eyes wide.

"Aww, iadul nr! Eu nu sunt obtinerea răpit."

"I don't think it approves." The pilot said with a smirk, to which I gave him the finger. After a few seconds of deliberation, I came up with the plan. I uncuffed the tiger and threw her over my shoulders in a fireman's carry. After a few minutes of her attempting to break free, including trying to scratch me though my battle worn tan armor, she finally gave up.

"De ce să mă de toți ceilalți." She grumbled in defeat. "HEI, eu sunt sigur că Wilde ar fi un subiect de test mai bine ca mine." I paid no attention to the tiger while climbing aboard the exterior of the fighter

After about fifteen minutes of the Cat whining and complaining, the pilot landed us in the upper Dignitary bay. Once I re-hoised the large tiger over my shoulders to make the jump from the fighter to the ground, she made a low disapproving grumble but otherwise didn't protest.

"Good luck One-six-five-nine."

"Thanks for the lift Echo-Four." I said while setting the tiger on the ground and pulling out my handcuffs. After re-handcuffing the Tiger, I began the relatively short journey through the hull of my home, passing many of my brothers while we walked.

"Attention ICT that's transporting the Tiger, this is Captain Paterus speaking. Captain Crawford has ordered you take the Alien to my quarters, We're using that as a temporary prison hold due to the HDF using the prison cells as their temporary bunks."

"Which Crawford if I may ask Sir?" I replied in the radio.

"Which one do you think Soldier?"

"The woman?"

"Genius I tell you, truly genius." Admiral Paterus replied in a sarcastic tone. "Just for how smart you are, you're assigned guard duty for MY quarters. I don't need them torn up, so you'll be inside with the cat the entire time."

All around me I heard suppressed laughing from my predicament. "Are you sure Sir, I could be of much bett-"

"That's an order Clone." Admiral Paterus interrupted. Of course I would be assigned to babysitting of all things. I then let out a low and defeated grumble before responding.

"Aye Aye Captain, ICT One-six-five-nine rerouting prisoner to the CQ." By this time I had forgotten all about letting go of the Tiger, and when I looked at her, she had a smirk plastered across her stupid stripped face.

"Cineva a lua pur și simplu băț scurt? deoarece se pare ca ea." The Tiger said with a smirk.

"UGH, could my day get any worse." I whined while grabbing the feline. After a more lengthy walk away from the prison hold, we made it to the gravity ring.

"Are you ICT One-six-five-nine?" A HDF Soldier that was waiting in front of the CQ asked.

"Yes Sir."

"My name is Sergeant Dunn, I've been instructed to give you this." He said while handing me a portable Holographic Computer. I looked at it for a few seconds in curiosity, before looking down at the much smaller Human.

"Is this to tame the boredom of sitting for hours?"

"Hehehe, I'm afraid not. It's a translator for communications between English and Zootopian."

"Zootopian?"

"That's what we're calling their language for now... Laaatttteeerrr." Sergeant Dunn said as he walked away, waving with two fingers.

"Huh, interesting." I said while inspecting the cube.

After entering the CQ, I shut and remotely locked it with my Exoskeleton armor. I then released the Tiger and took a seat at the desk to one side of the room. It was going to be quite boring sitting around to guard a single thing, so I started what any ICT would, I began to disassemble and reassemble my weapons one by one, over and over. But even that gets boring after a while.

"So do you like music?" I asked, fully expecting no answer. And what do ya know, no reply, only a curious expression while the Tiger sat on the freshly made bed. I was going to start messing around with my C-PAC rifle again, but I remembered the computer Sergeant Dunn gave me an hour or so ago. After booting it up and opening the translator program, I began to type into the orange holographic screen that the tiger was intently watching.

" _Do you have a name?"_ When I looked up to the orange and black feline, she had an intrigued face. I activated another keyboard on her side of the hologram and she realized what it was for within a few seconds; The symbols were quite strange looking, something I had never seen before. But why would I have seen it if no one had been to the planet before.

" _is this a translator"_

" _Yes. What's your name?"_

" _Lola how about you"_

" _Well Lola, I don't have a name, only a number."_ Upon focusing past the partly transparent display, I could see curiosity.

" _why do you have a number instead of a name and what's your number"_

" _My number is One-six-five-nine of the INV Imperial Freedom. The reason I have a number instead of a name is I'm a Clone designed to be the perfect soldier, not a person."_

" _wow that sucks why would you need to be made for battle i noticed the Mammal you were talking to was much shorter than us why is that?"_ I was starting to become ever so slightly ruffled from he lack of punctuation.

" _I'm much taller than my Human counterparts so that we can more easily defeat them in close quarters combat. The reason we're made for battle is because We're in a war with the Federation of Earth. I'm Part of the Empire of Achenar... At least I used to be."_

" _OOOH that sounds ominous just one last question or two maybe three. Are you invading us?"_ I let out a small chuckle at this.

" _If we were to be invading you, it would be over by now. We would have just incinerated the entire city with a Neutron bomb and moved onto the next one. So simply put, we're not invading your planet. We're just helping out one of our leaders until we leave."_ Once I had typed this, I stood up from my chair and walked over to the door so I check something on the LCD panel. Upon turning around, the Tiger was picking up my deactivated C-PAC rifle. I instantly drew my backup Pistol, a 12.7 by 42 millimeter Beowulf handgun the Humans wouldn't dare fire due to their small hands.

"DROP THE WEAPON!" I commanded while sprinting and aiming at the Tiger. When she whipped her head towards me, I saw panic... this was good. She immediately dropped the C-PAC, letting it crash to the floor, but I continued my dash towards her.

"Nu-nu-nu-nu, acesta este doar un-" Lola said with her hands out defensively, nevertheless I collided with her, taking us both to the ground where I put a knee on her back, and pressed my Beowulf handgun to her skull.

"DON'T MOVE!" I shouted while continuing to hold the pistol into her skull.

"Am fost doar uita la aceasta." She grumbled with a muffled voice.

I continued to hold Lola down while I retrieved my handcuffs, and once they were applied, I let her stand up; While she was standing up, I grabbed the C-PAC rifle.

"Am fost doar în căutarea. Nu am văzut niciodată o armă așa." She said with an irritated face.

"UGH, USE...THE...TRRRRAAAASSSSSLLLLAAAATTTTOOOORRRR." I said while pointing to the small, black, brushed aluminum cube that continued to project an orange holographic screen with opposing keyboards in our respective languages.

"Cum vă așteptați să-mi scrie cu picioarele mele legat de genul asta." She replied while pulling at the handcuffs.

" _Figure it out."_ I wrote in the translator. Once Lola looked at the screen, she huffed in frustration and started pacing around the room.

"Amintiți-vă, ați spus să-l dau seama." She said with a smirk. Shortly after this, she backrolled and came up with the cuffs in front of her, not behind. She then started walking towards me, earning the activation of the C-PAC rifle; This started up the ionization of the former condensed hydrogen gas, causing the central ovoid and surrounding cables to illuminate blue. "Hei, ia-o ușor, im doar merg la TTTTRRRRAAAANNNNSSSSLLLLAAAATTTTOOOORRRR." She said while pointing to the hologram.

"It's just Translator this is the… Translator." I said while gesturing.

"Trraa-zzz-ler?"

I thought this was somewhat amusing that she messed up the pronunciation. "Trans-later." I replied while sounding out the word.

"….Translator." Lola said while stepping further forward, I immediately raised my rifle to the low ready position in light of her attempting to escape just a few minute ago. Her response was typing in the air and giving me a "Come on" face. With a few steps back and a gesture of the rifle, Lola started typing away at the keyboard.

" _i was just looking at the thing no need to get all ruffled up thats quite the gun im not a fan personally but it comes with the job."_ With that spray of words she typed, it took quite a while to figure out what she was trying to say.

" _For now you're going to stay in the cuffs, but could you please use better punctuation. it's quite annoying."_ I replied while letting the glowing C-PAC dangle from its sling.

" _Jeez, I was expecting to not have to use grammar this one time, but nooo, someone needs their structure. Look, can we just go back to being friendly abductor and placid abductee."_ When I focused through the mostly opaque message window, Lola had her hands extended towards me for a handshake. I deliberated shaking it for quite some time and when I went to put out my hand, hers had already retracted. " _Guess not :( Am I allowed to take a shower, I saw that this room had one, and my fur is ingrained with sand."_

" _Sorry for not shaking your hand, I just wasn't sure about it."_ I replied while sticking my gloved hand back between the hologram, blocking some of its projection. Within a few seconds Lola shook it.

" _We call these Paws."_ Was responded when our shake broke away. "Labă." She said while pointing to her hand, now known as Paw.

"Labă" I repeated before saying our version while pointing to her fuzzy paw. "Paw."

"Paw?" Lola responded to which I nodded.

" _Look, while learning your language is fun and all, it's not very fun. Can I take my shower now?"_ Lola typed in the translator.

"Yeah, just make it fast." I said with a dismissal waive while simultaneously deactivating my C-PAC rifle.

" _What?"_ Lola typed with a confused face to go with it.

" _Make it fast."_ Almost immediately she shoved her paws across the table and started pulling at the handcuffs. "Fiiiinnnneee, but if you try to escape again I won't be so forgiving." I said while unlocking the restraints.

"Eu nu vorbesc extraterestru." She replied just before rounding the corner into the bathroom. Once I heard the water start running, I began to disassemble and reassemble my weapons.

"Attention all GFCS operators, fire on objective kilo-two. Black phoenix is escaping." Rang through the intercom by nonetheless than Admiral Elliot Crawford; He must have used the direct line to avoid delay from the relay officers. Within a few seconds, I heard the familiar sound of rail driver, modular interceptor guns, and the main beam cannons firing. Almost as fast at it began, the fire stopped and an eerie silence filled the ship; This was always common, but it was never calming, the silence always got to me within seconds. So I did what I had always done.

"I pledge my undying allegiance to the Empire of Achnenar..."

* * *

-=Elliot Pov: Fifteen minutes later=-

I was quite unhappy that the person I had been fighting for a while now had escaped, several times to add to the insult. Whatever his name was, escaped in his graphite colored Imperial Cutter with minimal damage to its hull.

"Son of a BITCH! If it weren't for that damn wolf challenging me to death by combat, I would've stopped that cybernetic ass-hat!" I yelled into the air while cresting the port _(left)_ side of the INV Imperial Freedom. By the time my forlorn search had concurred, it was nearing midday and the sun was reflecting off the Imperial capital ship with a shimmer. Along with that, its shadow had been drawn directly under the hull, instead of covering a large part of the city.

Due to the only reason we were in the city just entered hyperspace, I had ordered the clones to withdraw from the city and to release the rest of the ZPD; The means of return was quite interesting, the fighters had to pick up clones in fives and tens, whisking them away on the egg shell white exterior instead of in the cargo bay of Imperial Clipper dropships. Meanwhile, I had the Scorpion Assault drone-

"That's a great name!… S.A.D… Easy to say and easy to remember, And it make enemies sad when they see it." I said aloud while passing through the upper dignitary hangar bays' Shield based airlock.

I had ordered the SAD to patrol around the city, ending any riots by varying the force needed to dissipate the hordes that roamed free. The moment I landed in the mostly filled hangar, I noticed my ship looked much better than when I left. I probably way too much time than a should have trying to think if it was always in that condition.

"Nahh, I must be losing me marbles." I mumbled while turning towards the Gravity ring.

Just when I reached the large sliding door that would allow me peace and quiet... He interrupted. "You're not lookin' so hot lately. How yuh feeling?" Esmond asked while appearing as an ICO.

"Not now Esmond. I'm tired and want to take a shower. Executing people really wears me out ya-know."

"Uhh, yeeeaaaahhhh… you have fun... I need to… Gooo." He replied while disappearing.

"Whatever." I said while waving a dismissal hand. When I opened the door, I was met with a Clone sitting at the desk, currently assembling his C-PAC rifle. "Can I help you Corporal?"

"Negitive Sir. I'm here to-"

"If you don't need anything, then out." I said while gesturing to the open door.

"You don't understand S-"

"NO, YOU don't understand. I'm exhausted, and you're leaving without another word. Do I make myself clear?" By this time, I was already removing the Six-point harness that accompanied my G-suit.

"…. Aye Aye Captain." The clone replied, just before leaving the room. As soon as the door shut and it locked, the clothes came off; The compression of the G-suit becomes very uncomfortable from the pneumatic squeezing on my legs and torso. Normally the suit doesn't pressurize unless it's subjugated to high gravitational loads, but it still hugs the body to an uncomfortable level.

Once I had folded up the Arid Multicam Suit and set it under my EXO-35, I started rubbing all the hairs on my legs and arms to un-mat them. Duing this pointless, but enjoyable task, I remembered what I was doing before Judith called me away.

"Jacqueline… _Do I do it now, what am I thinking, of course I do it now."_ I thought while donning the Lovely G-suit once more. Just as I was stepping into the legs, someone caught my periphery. My instincts immediately took over and my D.D.N.A.M. activated. It was the Tiger I granted the Stay of execution, barreling towards me; When I attempted to step out of the way, it hit me that I hadn't removed the G-suit from my ankles. With a loud thud of the stripped intruder hitting my gut, it squeezed me tighter than I care to admit.

"Whhaaahhhhat the helll." I groaned while being bear hugged to death and simultaneously lifted off the ground by the ten foot furry giant. The Large orange and black cat kept me completely immobilized while walking us somewhere in the room.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you for not killing him." She said.

"What are yoohhhooo talking about, and who are you?" I said with a grunt from her squeezing me tighter; Simultaneously I had activated the emergency beacon in my arm though direct brain control.

"My name is Lola, thank you for- AAAHHHHHH!" The Tigers sentence was cut short by a massive surge of electricity I sent into her side using my electric discharge. When I hit the ground from her letting go, my ankle happened to be slightly bent; I could feel the talus bone being crushed in slow motion due to my D.D.N.A.M being active. "Sonofabitch." I hissed while holding onto my ankle.

"That really hurt!" Lola shouted at me.

"Stay away from me." I said while inching towards the door, slowly but surely. "D _amn, broken feet, ankles, whatever, hurt like a BITCH."_

"What was that sound? The one like someone crunching a chip." She said while looking around the room and simultaneously walking towards me.

"Stay AWAY." I warned while discharging more electricity between my fingertips.

"Okay, okay. I'm staying away." Lola replied while sitting on the bed just a few feet away. "What was that sound?"

"My Talus… Small bone in the ankle." I replied while scooting further towards the door, which was just feet away.

"… How did your ankle break from such a short fall? It was like four feet up."

I briefly looked down to my broken ankle, which was now bending at an unsettling angle. "H-have you noticed the difference in gravity yet?"

"I guess, I just thought it was me." Lola said with a shrug. "Now it's my turn. Why did you capture us, threaten to execute five police officers, including me, only to let them go five minutes later?"

What was she talking about 'Threaten.'

"I killed them all, Including that rabbit that wouldn't shut up the whole time. You're the only survivor out of the five… Back onto the gravity topic. The reason my ankle broke is the gravity ring still spins in atmosphere, creating a two times gravitational pull. That and a bad landing." _Aww shit, I screwed up that conversation real fast._

"..." The tiger didn't respond, only silent tears filled Lolas' eyes as a horrified expression washed over her face… Annnnd then it was rage. "You killed my Friends, and now you're gonna pay." She seethed while walking towards me. When Lola reached out to grab me, or whatever was planned, I shocked her again, but it didn't seem to do much more than cause a flinch. The massive creature continued moving closer, grabbing me by my neck and lifting me clear off the ground. "Your going to pay for killing my friends." She said before making a cat-like growling noise.

"Y-you already... _gasp_ … said that." I whispered just before punching her solar plexus with my deregulated arm. "How… are you… not colaps *G _assssp*_ … Collapsing?"

"That's what you want to know before you die!?" She asked in a rage while further crushing my throat. I started to cling to the giant animals arm, attempting to crush her arm with my robotic counterpart, which would be easy for the advanced prosthetic.

" _Low Power, unable to deregulate Polyphase servomechanisms."_ Was said directly into my brain, just as the arm went limp.

"Your species is pathetic and weak." Lola Hissed.

"Says the one…* _Gasssp*_ … who's about to die." I rasped out. By this time my vision was starting to tunnel, and I started to worry that no one was going to save me.

"Yeah, cuz it really looks like I'm in trouble." Lola said as she squeezed my neck even tighter.

* * *

-= 3rd person Pov=-

Lola continued to squeeze Elliots' neck until he went completely limp from blacking out. When she let him go, Elliot hit the floor like a pile of jelly, limbs strewn about in every direction. She then walked over to his EXO-35 and pulled off the handgun that was attached for a right hand draw. "This is… Small." She mumbled while holding the almost miniature handgun. Elliot's concern had come to fruition, nobody received his distress call, and although ICT-1659 Stood outside the door in worry of what to do, he didn't hear a thing, even with his enhanced hearing. Judith was currently sleeping off the effects of the RSK-mk2, and was unable to help either.

The SAD (Scorpion assault drone) Was still patrolling Zootopia, obeying its orders to stop all the riots and ensue order. Although so far it hadn't needed to use lethal weaponry, only low power laser shots to heat up and temporarily blind the rioting Mammals. They were getting more and more bold by the hour.

"Return to your homes, a mandatory curfew has been implemented By the Human Defense Forces." Sounded though the SADs' loudspeaker. Hundreds of Mammals from all walks of life were crowded in front of the massive assault craft, throwing sticks, bottles and whatever else they could find.

"Jeffrey, gimme the lighter." Someone in a mask said while holding a liquor bottle. Once Jeffery gave the masked Mammal the lighter, he lit the bottle on fire and threw it at the SAD. The large Fireball created, was completely ignored as the SAD steadily walked down the road, creating a thunderous boom with each step.

"Ameaça detectada, Nove horas, baixa. Noivando!" Was sounded through the loudspeaker. Within a few seconds, The Mammals responsible for throwing the Molotov cocktail found the large 117mm tail mounted chaingun pointed at them. "Shit... SHIT!" One of them yelled while running off the rooftop from where they were standing, but it mattered not; With just five consecutive shots, the two story building was reduced to rubble, along with anyone inside.

"Return to your homes, a mandatory curfew has been implemented by the Human Defense Forces."

* * *

-=Staff Sergeant Dunn Pov=-

"What the hell was that sound?" I asked while looking up from Admiral Judith Crawfords' G-suit, which had stopped smoldering.

"I didn't hear anything." Specialist Hawkins replied. "Is is the armor?" She asked.

We were still wearing our Kryptek Typhoon stealth armor that Judith developed for the soldiers assigned to her personal detail, making us look more like Humanoid robots than soldiers.

"No, I definitely heard something else, it sounds like a beeping… Listen, there it is again." After a few more seconds of listening, the same beeping was made again.

"I heard it that time, but it just sounds like medical equipment to me." Hawkins replied.

"No, that's not it. Get looking." I ordered while rummaging through the G-suit for the beeping.

"Seriously?"

"YES, now get looking Hawkins!… It sounds like a damn bomb!" I said loudly while searching the G-suit in a more rushed manor. We looked for a good minute as the beeping increased in speed, turning into an almost continuous sound.

"FOUND IT!… But it's just the Wingsuit." Hawkins replied while scratching her head. She was right, the Wingsuit was indeed the source of the sound emanating through the otherwise quiet room. After I had unsuccessfully looked for an interface screen or something to stop the beeping sound, Hawkins held up a Wrist mounted display.

"NOT… A… WORD." I warned while looking at the smirking Woman.

"I didn't say anything Staff Sergeant." She said while tapping away at the display. "...Huh, any idea what this means?" She while handing me the wrist mounted LCD display.

 _W-35-1 DB active_. "Not a clue… Let's go ask Elliot." I said while walking towards the door.

"Ya-sure you should call him that?" She asked while following close behind.

"I'm not going to call them both Admiral Crawford, at least when they're not around."

"Are you sure that is wise Staff Sergeant?"

"N-NO SIR!" I Answered at full attention.

"I'm not in charge of you ya-know." Admiral Paterus said while walking in front of us.

"By Admiral Crawfords' orders, we are sir." I replied hastily.

"Well, which one are you talking about?"

"Judith."

"Mmmhhhhmmm, well then, as you were." He said while walking into the medical wing.

"That was really..." I said while trying to think of the correct word to describe what just happened.

"Odd?" Specialist Hawkins added.

"Yeah... Let's get going."

"You got it Sergeant Sandwich."

"ONE TIME. IT WAS ONE DAMN TIME." I shrieked while blushing profusely.

"Hahahahaha… Too easy." She said with a smirk.

* * *

-==Ten minutes later==-

"Sergeant, Could you open the door? Admiral Crawford hasn't responded to my requests." A clone asked frantically.

"He wouldn't answer the door because he's not in there. Admiral Crawford's in the Prison hold where the rest of us are staying." I replied.

"No, he's in here. I tried to warn him about the Giant Tiger, but he wouldn't listen."

"Shit." I muttered while pulling up my arm mounted hologram.

"Satcom, I need you to open the door to the CQ."

"Sorry Sergeant Duun, you don't have the authority to do that." Satcom replied though my radio headset.

"Admiral Crawford could be in danger, There's a warning code that Judith's Wingsuit's displaying."

"What's the code?"

"W-35-1 DB active." The instant I finished my sentence, the door shot open.

"You better save him." Satcom said through the radio.

"Weapons ready gentlemen."

"Hey, what about me?" Hawkins whined as we entered the room with our suppressed carbines raised.

"You're a She-devil, not a woman."

"Aww, how kind." Hawkins said while holding a hand up to her heart. "CLEAR!"

"I'm going to check the next room." The clone said while continuing forward, glowing C-PAC raised to fire.

Hawkins and I started searching the room for anything useful, eventually finding small amounts of blood and Elliots' G-suit on the ground.

"Looks like he didn't even see it coming." Hawkins said while picking up the G-suit.

"No, he saw it, but how do you expect to take down a ten foot Tiger, bare handed?"

"Staff Sergeant! I found him, and it's not good!" The clone yelled from the other room.

"Get the rest of the HDF on alert, I'll help Crawford." I said while jogging to were the clone's voice was emanating from. When I laid my eyes on Elliot, I felt sick; His entire body looked like swiss cheese. His skin was torn off in most places and there was blood everywhere; The clone was trying his best to sate the bleeding, but there was just too much damage.

"… Stage f-f-f-f-four." He whispered, causing both of us to jump back in surprise.

"What's stage four? Come one Elliot, What's stage four?" I Asked while kneeling down to his body.

"s-ssss- Cellular…d-disint-disinte-"

"Disintegration?" I asked. After a few seconds, he nodded slowly while opening his eyes. "Oh God." I whispered in horror. Admiral Crawfords' eyes were like a pile of jelly inside the sockets, and the instant he started opening them, blood pooled out.

"Tell J… I love h-h-her."

"You got it Sir."

"Okay, I've aler…" Hawkins said, stopping mid sentence when she saw Elliot.

"Stay with him, I'll be back." I ordered while standing up.

"Where are you going?" The clone asked.

"To get the only one who can fix this."

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

I knew what was happening to me the second I regained conscientiousness. With all the physical exertion on my body, I had prematurely triggered Stage four of my D.D.N.A.M. My entire body was falling apart all the way down to the DNA, causing cellular disintegration as well as a few other ' _Issues'_ as the federation put it. I was thankful that someone had given me some amazing painkillers, because it hurt to breath, it hurt to think... Everything hurt.

My mind was turning to mush and I could feel my intelligence fleeting by the second. I suppose my life had always amounted to this, just a prototype bound to fail and be cast to the side. I was suppose to be an immortal soldier without the need for robotic enhancements, but it backfired… I was to be like the great Planarian flatworm, able to grow new limbs and organs. But that obviously didn't happen, so the didn't try again with Judith. She instead had a Telomerase enhancement that would allow her to life for hundreds of years, a mere fraction of what was planned for me.

How was it that I had the best chance for survival yet I've died almost a dozen times in my short lifetime. I suppose if you think about it from a certain perspective, I really do have a high survivability rating, I've always come back to life one way or another. It's almost like a normal thing for me to die, but I'd like to put an end to that.

"Esmond." I thought.

"… Yes Elliot."

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry… Sorry for what?"

"I was...Mean… to you sometimes… and I'm sorry for that."

"Don't worry about it, I wasn't the kindest either… You should know something, I don't like sending you on blind crusades in the name of entertainment. I'm ordered to. And you should know that Lola's in the air vents."

"Why would I care?"

"Because you care for everyone… You're just blindsided by the genetic modifications that course through your body."

"I meant, why would I care, if I'm going to die?"

"Well, you might not die."

"Really?" I asked in a weak but hopeful tone.

"Yes. In the vision that I gave Jacqueline, you were alive six years from now."

"How could I live if no one in the Galaxy can fix me… I don't even know If I want fixing."

"...What do you want?"

"huh?"

"If you don't want to be fixed, what do you want?"

"….. I want to be a normal Human with a normal and simple life."

"But that would leave you weak and vulnerable."

"Yes it would, I will admit losing the ability to make decisions at the speed of a quantum biocomputer would be hard to get used to, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make… Why are you even asking me this?"

"I… I'm willing to give you a new body and a new life, just like the one you asked for."

"I don't want a cloned body if that's what you saying."

"No… Come with me." Esmond said as I felt a cool breeze on my face. When I opened my eyes, We were on a skyscraper overlooking a city.

"Where are we?" I asked while walking next to Esmond, who for the first time wasn't me; He was still a human, but with large hawk like wings folded on his back along with with a white and red toga like robe.

"Do you not recognize this place? Look closer." He said gently.

"It's… Earth. But I don't recognize the City."

"This is Seattle before world war three. We're on the Space needle that was converted into an orbital rail gun control tower."

"Why are we here?"

"To see our ancestry."

"By why - Why would I need to see all - Wait-wait-wait, OUR ancestry?"

"Yes, this is our history, You must see first hand the mistakes of the Human race. You see, I was here for it all. The great Guardian of Terra. One of four sentient races in the galaxy. There were four of us, Aleksandra, The defender of mankind… That's me right there." Esmond said while pointing to a woman sitting at a computer in the space needle.

"That sounds like a woman's name, No?"

"Yes, that's because we're all women. Just in different appearances, both male and female. My original name has changed over the millennia. I'm currently Esmond, so I appear as a man."

"What do you really look like, I see you have those wings and a Roman looking toga thing."

"Do you really want to see?"

"Umm…" After a long deliberation I had my decision. "Only if you want to."

"Turn around for a moment." I did as he said, and after a few seconds, Esmond spoke again, only in soft female voice. "Okay all changed."

When I turned around, Esmond had turned into a human woman with the same Massive brown wings mirroring each side of her body. Her hair was a Dark blond that reached well below her waist.

"You look beautiful… Ooooh that sound super gay since you were just a dude."

"Not to worry Elliot, I'm not a man so it's not gay. And thank you for the compliment."

"Ya-know, you look familiar, almost like I've seen you before."

"Yes this is true, you spent many years learning Greek and have encountered my name many times."

"Don't say it..." I said while pacing around the roof of the space needle. "Are yoooo... Nike?"

"Very good, but that name is quite silly. Anyway, my Job was to protect The human race from destroying itself."

"You succeeded, sorta." I said with a sheepish smile that earned a frown from the woman.

"Yes, I almost failed my one job, please don't remind me. Moving on to the next guardian, Her name was Claramond." Esmond, now known as Aleksandra said.

"Just a quick question, why so many mond's?"

"It's what our creator named us, and no, we don't know who he or she is."

"Okay... Where are we now?" I asked. We had been popped into a small medieval village on the edge of a forest.

"On the planet you call Achenar Six D. The year is two-thousand- three-hundred and one. The peaceful people of Lunov were slaughtered by the sky Gods. This caused the death of Claramond due to our power coming from the species we are to guard… I-I tried to stop them f-from killing my Sister. I really did try, I sent an entire army to protect her" She said while tears fell from he face.

"The battle for Achenar." I mumbled in knowledge of when the federation tried to stop the Empire from killing the Sentient race. "Hey, it's going to be okay. Something I've learned, is no matter who dies and who lives, life always finds a way." I wanted to reach out and put my hand on her shoulder, but I wasn't sure about touching what I realized was the equivalent of a Goddess, whether it be from technological might or just spiritual pixie dust.

"I know, but when you kn-know someone for dozens of millennium… Please excuse me for a moment." Aleksandra said while walking into the forest. I stood for a few seconds, deliberating on what to do. Should I look at the creatures we caused to go extinct, or comfort the Astral being. I looked back and forth several times from the forest and the village with palisade walls.

" _They can wait."_ I thought while jogging into the forest. I thought I would catch up to her within a minute or two, but it had been like twenty minutes I was wandering around the forest. I had obviously made clear markings to find my way back, but when I turned around to do just that, the markings were gone. "Aww crap." I said while walking a few paces towards where I had just made the mark on the tree.

 _*Snap*_

I instantly whipped around to where I heard the snapping branch. "Esmond... whoops, Aleksandra!?" I called out into the forest while picking up a war club looking stick. I knew this was just a dream, vision or near death experience, but I didn't need to be showed up twice in one day by aliens.

After no response and me feeling several shivers down my spine, I began to climb the tree I was standing under, which closely resembled a pine tree besides the lack of pine cones. After a few minutes of climbing, I reached the treetop and could see over the forest's canopy. "Oh, this is REAL bad." All around me were trees, miles and miles of trees. There was no way I had wandered this far in, I had made sure of that. But here I was, in the middle of a forest with something else that I hadn't identified. When I looked down to the forest floor, I could have sworn I saw a shadow running by without a creature accompanying it. "Aww fuu- No nope, I'm not going to swear under any condition… even when I'm in a spooky ass forest with a shadow monster." Once again, more shivers shot down my spine and I didn't dare drop to the bottom of the tree.

"Wait, shadows only form in the presence of light, but what happens when it's night. Do the shadows disappear all together, or can they just go anywhere… I'm going to assume the latter and start making my wayyyyy…. that way." I said while getting ready to jump to the next tree. Just before leaping, I saw the shadow running by again, only it looked more like a faulty Refraction field for stealth armor. Could it be the way the Empire killed the sentient race, perhaps, perhaps not.

By the time I had jumped to about a hundred and thirty trees, the sun was starting to set, BUT I could see the edge of the forest and a few clouds of smoke created by fire. So I pressed on Jumping from tree to tree, slow as a snail, but still moving. When I was just a few trees away from the edge of the forest, I heard a blood curdling scream emanate from the forest followed by what sounded like pleas for help. I sure didn't want to go back in there, and the People of the planet need to deal with their own problems.

"ELLIOT!" Was screamed by the same voice.

"sonofabitch." I mumbled while looking back into the eerie forest. I recognized the voice as Aleksandras', but what if it was a trap. That's what I'd do, sounding a familiar face to lure me into my demise. But once I heard another scream for help, it was too much for me to bear.

With a quiet thump of landing on the grass of the forest floor, I started making my way towards the voice, taking an erratic rout to hopefully mask my approach from whatever was in the forest with me. As a continued forward, I started hearing voices, and I mean the kind you wouldn't want to hear. Ghostly voices as if the forest itself was speaking. The shivers down my spine were almost non stop by this point, and every hair on my body was standing on end. Yet I continued, why? I couldn't tell you that if I wanted to, but for some reason I pressed back into the very thing I was trying to escape from just minutes ago.

When I laid eyes on the source of the sound, it downright almost made me pass out from fear. Aleksandra was tied up in the middle of a red pentagram, a frickin pentagram, Ya-know like the ones that are used in people sacrifices. I had started quaking in my boots, something I was not known for, even in the most dangerous situations. But somehow I followed my training and made several circles around the area to look for hostile forces. There was nothing, no ghosts, no people wearing blood soaked robes, or whatever you'd expect to see, just a silence like no other. It was as if the entire world was holding its breath in anticipation.

When I walked into the clearing, Aleksandra started to squeal in joy, but I held a finger to my lips and whispered if their was anyone around. Once she nodded no, I began to untie her from the sacrificial podium in the middle of the pentagram.

"What is this place?" I hissed while moving to the second tied limb.

"I-I don't know. I don't have any power here and-and..."

"Shh." I said while moving to the third limb. Once I had moved to the last piece of rope and began to untie it, Aleksandra screamed "Behind you!"

I had heard that one all too many times and instantly rolled away while activating my D.D.N.A.M… Only it wouldn't activate. I was stuck with my normal reaction times, slow and stupid. The opponent I was facing looked similar to a human, only with blue fur covering its body; It was more humanoid than the Zootopians, but still had some animalistic features. I drew the improvised club from my waistline, earning a drawn out laugh from the creature as it drew a Double edged sword. Nevertheless, I held out the club in a fencing stance to prod and poke at my adversaries defenses.

Then I remembered the key to defeating a sword wielding opponent… Close the distance.

"Close the distance." I kept hearing it over and over while we walked in a helical spin around the clearing... calmly... slowly... peac- "AAAAAAAAAAAA!" I screamed at the top of my lungs while charging at the creature, earning a few steps back in shock. It attempted to swing at me while I charged, but only a parry came out of it. As I reached the creatures' body, I let go of my club while doing a double legged takedown. Once we were on the ground, I began to punch and elbow with all my might, hitting its face and throat several times; Though all this, the creature seemed unfazed by my attacks.

It eventually threw me off and retrieved the sword, leaving me without a weapon, and it with a good weapon considering the circumstances.

" _Polyphase Servomechanisms deregulated."_ Was said into my head. DUH, how had I forgotten that I had one of the best weapons attached to my shoulder. When the creature swung the sword at me, I caught it in my hand and started crushing the blade under the pressure of my robotic fingers. It's eyes widened slightly, and we both knew who would win this fight… At least I thought both of us knew.

In an instant, the blue humanoid drew a pistol and fired it into my chest three times. After the initial shock wore off of being shot, I was pissed.

"Bull shit, This * _Cough*_ Is bullshit."

"Indeed it is." The blue furred creature said while holstering the pistol.

"Y-you speak English."

The creature didn't reply as it walked toward Aleksandra. As it passed me, I sent all the current I could into its legs. My face immediately received a kick in retaliation. I was just food being played with, and the playing had ended. My vision almost instantly started tunneling and I found myself intently struggling for conscientiousness. The only way to black out this fast was from pain or a shot to the heart, and it wasn't pain. The light was quickly fading from my eyes, but I had no regret, for I was courageous, and that's all that matters.

"Wake up Elliot." Someone said while shaking me "WAKE… UP!" Was said as I was more violently shook.

"I'm up, I'm UP! I replied while standing as quickly as possible. "You would NOT believe the dream I just… Had." I said with my sentence coming to an abrupt halt as my eyes focused on the same creature that had killed me. And poof, I was headed for the hills, because I wasn't planning to be killed by the same thing twice. I was running as fast as my legs could carry my through the meadow we were in, and when I looked back, the blue creature hadn't moved.

" _Why isn't it chas-"_ My thoughts were interrupted by something very solid knocking me on my ass almost instantly, like I had just hit a brick wall. At the same time, my vision and hearing disappeared, possibly from some kind of sound proof blindfold. I felt something start messing with my hands, and I attempted to retaliate. No matter how hard I tried, my hands wouldn't move from above my head, even when my arm was deregulated. With each passing second, my breathing became more and more panicky, as well as fearful tears filling my nonviable eyes.

"Don't hurt me… Please." I whimpered, only nothing came out, just silence. I might have said what was intended, but I couldn't tell without my hearing. I continued to squirm with all my might and after a few minutes, I started to hear what sounded like someone attempting to calm me down. The voice was muffled, like a mortar had just gone off next to me, but it was definitely there.

"Elliot… Elliot you're okay now, no one's going to hurt you." I heard in a still muffled tone. I immediately started wailing in what I can only explain as a mixture of sadness and relief. My arms were released and I was picked up from my supine position, which was followed by a gentle hug. I began to convulse in the darkness of wherever we were and I felt something wrap around my body besides the other persons' arms. When whatever it was touched my skin, I flinched in fear and started batting at it with one of my hands.

"It's okay, you're safe now." The voice cooed into my ear. At the same time, the thing I was batting away wrapped around my body, covering my entire back along with my butt. I started to squirm from it touching me, but when the woman started petting my hair, I calmed down a bit. "Can you see yet?" She asked after a few seconds.

"N-no." I said in between sniffles.

"I knew this was a bad idea." The voice was very familiar, but not enough for me to recognize.

"What wa-was a bad idea?"

"Putting you through that whole thing, it's just that the others wanted to be sure you were of the right character... and I didn't think you'd react like this. Why are you so frightened by that creature Elliot?"

"I don't know, I-I-I-I just am."

"I'm going to return your sight now, so don't move." After a few seconds, I felt lips on one of my eyes for a few seconds, then on my other eye for the same duration. Once the woman had retracted her lips from my eyes, I started to blink profusely, and with each blink more vision returned.

By the time I could fully see, I had stopped crying and was a fair amount more composed, but it didn't dare let the person go; I still held onto her like a drowning kitten. I had my head resting on the woman's shoulder for the majority of my breakdown, but when I retracted just far enough to see who it was, I started to fear holding on any longer.

"You don't need to be afraid, I know you think it's not okay for you to touch me, but I assure you, it's quite alright in this instance." Alexsandra cooed into my ear. (Formerly Esmond if you forgot)

With that, I re-rested my head onto her shoulder and held on. I then noticed what was holding my entire back. "Whoa." I said while reaching up a little further to touch the feathered wings that protruded from Aleksandras' back and encircled me.

"Elliot, my wings are very ticklish, so don't do what you thinking."

Without another word, my hand returned to its original position of holding onto her lower back. I had started to think about what Alexsandra said, about how the creature was just a test of my character. Why would my personality need to be tested? Why would he… or is it she, dang this is confusing… Why would she do that to me?

"I already told you it was because the others wanted to know if you were of the right character." She said in a soft voice.

"What? I didn't say anything."

"I can read your thoughts silly... But that's not the only thing I can do." Aleksandra said in a silky tone. I paid no mind to the way she said it, but that changed when one of her hands dipped below my waistline and gave a firm squeeze.

"Wow, I don't want to be putting out the wrong vibes here. I'm not interested. Flattered, yes. But not interested." I said while holding out my hands defensively.

"I know, but you see, I'm interested." She said while walking towards me with her massive wings spread out. I continued to back away in an attempt to talk her out of whatever was planned under that half lidded smile, but that ship sank the instant it hit the water.

Aleksandra leapt forward with an inhuman speed, pinning me on the ground with my arms above my head, just like when I went blind a few minutes ago. "Please don't." I said in a whimper "I-I love Jacqueline."

"Don't worry, I can make you forget all about her, and then it'll be just you… and me." She said while trailing a hand down my chest.

"No, Don't Do This!… Please don't do this."

"There, ya-see! He's modest and committed to the one he loves, are you done yet!?" She shouted out into the empty field while standing up. I didn't move an inch from being frozen with fear and tears. Not the same kind as before, but from fear of being helpless. Aleksandras' wings folded up behind her while she stood unamused, looking into the empty field.

I saw my opportunity to run while she was occupied with talking to the air. "Elliot, don't run. I'm not actually going to do that to you. They wanted to see how you would react to different things.."

"WHO IS THEY!? Y-you keep acting nice, then d-do something to scare me half to death, but in different ways! you're no Guardian… You're the monster in childrens' books!" I spit with hatred just before running into the very forest I had tried to escape from. I must have been running for hours before I attempted to find out where I was; I honestly didn't care if I was lost on whatever world I stood, but my natural instincts told me to find a new heading of more usefulness.

Just as I was about to poke my head out of the treetops, I heard a voice below me. Not like the ones that scared me shit-less, but a living creature that I could fight if necessary. When I started to silently descend down the tree in an attempt to get a look at what was talking, an arrow flew by me, just inches from finding its mark. In response, I dropped the twenty or so feet to the forest floor, rolling forward when I hit the ground. The instant I regained balance, I started making erratic movements to make another shot almost impossible, yet the creature tried again.

"Interesting design for an arrow, miniature helical fetching along the shaft for added stability." I said while lightly gripping the arrow I had caught in my robotic arm.

"How do you do such things!?" Came a reply in the distance.

"Come to where I can see you and I'll show you!" I shouted back.

After a lengthy wait time and a few more arrows flying in my direction, all of which I caught almost effortlessly, the mystery archer appeared. I almost ran away from seeing it was the same creature as the one I fought in the much more spooky forest, but I realized it wasn't the same one. This blue furred humanoid was a female. She was wearing silver Chainmail armor which was covered in a white cloth. The cloth had a simple black cross in the center and she was carrying what looked like a variation of a longbow mixed with a Recurve bow. A respectable sized dagger also sat on her hip.

"You said you would show me how do did that." The blue creature… I shall call it a Lunovian... Why you ask. Because Aleksandra said the people of Lunov when we popped in here, so Lunovian seems reasonable to me.

"My arm is Polyphase Servo controlled, it uses a ten-phase alternating current for maximum preciseness of control." I replied.

"I have not heard of such words, please help me understand." The Lunovian woman replied.

After a few seconds of deliberation, I came up with a way that might work. "You are aware of lightning, yes?"

"We know of it, but do not understand how it works."

"My arm possesses the power of lightning." I said while discharging the minimal electric voltage needed to create an arc across my fingers.

"WITCH!" She shouted while drawing the dagger.

"NO no-no-no not witch! Technology. Like you have the technology of a bow and dagger, I have the technology to create lightning from my fingertips."

The Lunovian squinted at me for a few seconds with her cat eyes. "You will teach me of this Knowledge."

"I can't just teach you this, it's-" My sentence was cut short by the blue furred creature attempting to hold the dagger to my knife. When she did this, I grabbed the blade and pulled it out of her grasp. She then extracted menacing looking claws from her hands.

"Give... it… back. That's my coat of arms."

I held the small knife out, handle first, and when she reached out to grab it, I lifted the handle by twisting my wrist "Only if you promise not to hold it up to my neck."

"… Fine." The woman replied after a few seconds. "You can teach me this knowledge at my cottage."

"First off, no. It would offset the natural order of your advancement. Second, why would you even want to know this?"

"Because I wish to know more about everything in life, including what you are. You aren't from Lunov, so where are you from?" She said while walking off in a random direction, her tail swaying with each step. When I caught up to the Lunovian, I answered.

"Well, I'm not really sure where we are, but I'm from a place called Wolf-1061."

"Please explain it in more detail."

As the hours passed with us walking through the forest, I started to wonder where we were going. We passed several landmarks I had made out in the previous hours, and the sun was nearing the horizon from what I could see.

"Where are you taking us?"

"To my cottage."

"No, you've been walking us in circles for hours now."

"I need dinner."

"Why didn't you say so, I can help you hunt."

"heh-hehehe. I heard you traipsing through the woods miles away, how do you expect to catch anything?"

"With my knowledge."

There was a long pause with the Lunovian staring at me. "…. Will you teach me?" She asked in a hopeful tone.

"Uh, sure."

* * *

A few hours passed with me setting several snares and deadfall traps around various game trails, and the sun had set. I didn't understand what was with the Lunovian woman pulling me away from the traps I was trying to check. After me trying to get her to explain, and her not answering, I simply gave in and let her lead me wherever she wanted.

"Crrrrraaaaafffooooorrrrrrdddd." Was whispered through the forest, sending shivers through my body. The Lunovian's eyes widened as she started pulling me more frantically. I sure as hell didn't hesitate on letting her lead me by this point. As we ran, I heard another voice whispered alongside mine. "Marrrrroooooth." Maybe that was her name. But I didn't really have time to just stop and ask, so we continued sprinting through the ever darkening woods for a good five or ten minutes. For no apparent reason, the lunovian just stopped in front of a rock, and began to look around as if she was searching for the source of the voices. "What are you doing!?" I yelled in a whisper. And then it hit me, something literally hit the back of my head, sending my world into darkness.

"Why do I keep having to be knocked out?" I whined while rubbing the back of my sore head.

"Oooh you're awake. Don't worry, the Weeping campers can't get us in here."

"I'm sorry, the what now?" I asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Weeping campers... I made you some food." The Lunovian said while sitting at a wood table about five or ten feet away from where I was laying; The entire room's furnishings looked handmade, not to say it wasn't well made, just not crafted to the precision of a CNC machine; Most of the things, including the walls themselves were made out of the same type of wood, which looked like a light colored mahogany, although the grain pattern was very different.

"I-uhh thanks." I replied while sitting upright. "Do you have a name?"

"Maroth." So the voice in the forest did say her name. "What are you called?"

"Elliot, you can call me Elliot. Hey, why did I get knocked out?" I said while attempting to stand up. Maroth quickly rose and prevented my from standing by pushing down on my shoulders.

"You shouldn't stand yet."

"Why not?" I asked while continuing to lightly resist Maroth's pushing.

"Dahlia swings a mean club."

"So I was abducted, again." I said in a mopey tone while submitting to the Cobalt blue furred woman. Once I was sitting back on the bed, she retrieved a bowl from the table and gave it to me; Inside contained berries I had never seen before, as well as uncooked meat.

"You don't eat this do you."

"Weeeelllll, it's not so much as the food itself, but the fact it's not cooked. I can't really eat uncooked meat without the almost guarantee of getting sick."

"I could prep-"

"NO, it's - it's fine, I'm not really hungry anyway."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

The Lunovian known as Maroth nodded a few times before taking the bowl to another room. I waited patiently for a few minutes, eventually finding myself quite cold. There wasn't any kind of blanket on the handmade bed, so I just pressed my knees to my chest and shivered.

"Elliot, this is Dahlia… Are you okay?"

"Yeah I should be fine, I'm just a little cold." When I pulled my head out of my knees, I saw another Lunovian woman, similar in appearance, but a little bit taller and her fur was a darker shade of blue than Maroth. "Nice to meet you Dahlia, I'm Elliot." I said while extending my real arm for a handshake.

The Cat like humanoid looked at my hand for a few seconds, eventually reaching out to shake it. When our hands touched each other, my vision clouded with what looked like a human woman with white wings standing over a mountaintop. I attempted to get a better look at the winged woman, but when Dahlia retracted her hand, the vision disappeared. Maroth said something after that rather awkward moment, but I paid no mind to it due to being preoccupied with what just happened.

I was still in the forest with the ghost creatures running around, and Aleksandra was still most likely somewhere on the planet. What if it was just another fake test like what she said before I left. WHAT if the two blue cat people wer-

"Ellliiiioootttt." Maroth interruped while sitting beside me on the bed.

"Hm, sorry... I was just thinking."

"About?"

"The voices in the forest." As I said this, The other Lunovian woman, Dahlia, sat down at a small table a few feet away.

"Oh, yeah their pretty… interesting." There was a long and awkward pause with me just sitting on the bed in a little ball. "Are you sure you're okay? I've never seen a creature like you before… You don't have any fur and... Aren't you cold?"

" _*Sigh*_ Yeah, I'm cold, it's just not polite to ask someone for stuff right after they invited you into their home."

"Oh... Well, how about this. I will do something to make you warm if you tell me how your arm possesses the power of lightning."

I began to seriously contemplate telling the Lunovian how my arm worked in a way that was more educational. But why would a creature from the iron age want to know about advanced Polyphase servos, inductive charging, Thermic fluid heating, High yield sodium-Ion batteries, all of which were Just a mere fraction of the tech in my arm.

"Why do you wish to know?" I eventually asked.

"You caught an arrow in mid flight, you made lightning jump between your fingertips-"

"HE DID WHAT!?" Dahlia shrieked in what sounded like anger.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa, Take it easy." I interjected while holding out my hands.

"You must show me!" She said with a giddy tone while hastily walking towards me.

"Well, it kinda draws a lot of power, so I really shouldn't."

"SHOW." This time she extracted one of her claws and put it up to my neck.

"Okay... OKAY! I'm going!" I said while opening the display in my arm. I then set the discharge to the lowest voltage that would still create a good arc, 24 direct current volts; With this voltage I could potentially arc weld metal together with my hand. Once I had closed the menu, I began to arc electricity between my fingertips a few seconds at a time. While I was occupying the two with my robotic arm, I grabbed the lunovian that was sitting next to me with my real hand; Maroth was her name.

Just like I had hypothesized, I saw another Winged woman standing on another mountaintop flash into my vision. This woman had black wings unlike the white wings when I touched Dhalia; she also had black hair instead of pure white. When I let go of Maroth's hand, a large smile spread across my face.

"I won..." I said quietly

"What?" Maroth asked in an ignorant tone.

"I don't care if you let me win, I figured out who you people are." I said with a victorious smile that quickly turned into anger.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're saying." Dhalia said.

"YOU TWO... ARE GURADIANS!"

"Shhhhhh, you can't yell like that, the Weeping campers will find us."

"I Bet your ' _Weeping Campers'_ are just other Guardians. COME AND GET MEEEEE!" I shouted at a level nearing the top of my lungs. Within seconds, I heard my voice being called in an Eerie whisper, so I stood up and started looking for the exit to the house. I didn't need to leave however, as one of the ghostly apparitions appeared in what I would assume was the living room; The ghost was identical to the shadows I saw darting under me in the forest when I first arrived.

"Crrrraaaaafffff-"

"SHUT UP AND SIT YOUR ASS DOWN!" I demanded while pointing at a small handmade seat in the living room.

"Gigs up Alex." One of the Lunovians said while walking out of the room we were all in; She was shortly joined by the other Lunovian.

"Explain yourselves. But first let me guess, now keep in mind my names might be a little off." I said while standing in front of the three; Two Blue Lunovians and one shadowy ghost. "First, you gotta lose that ghost crap, or I'm gonna vomit in ur lap." Shortly after I said this, the Ghost turned into another Lunovian.

"You..." I was now pointing to the one who was a ghost just a few seconds ago. "She called you Alex, short for Aleksandra… Why, why do this to me? Ya-know what, save it. You two told me your real names I imagine, and by guessing from what I saw in those little visions-"

"You Saw Visions!?" Aleksandra shrieked with disbelief.

"Oh, save it fancy pants. It takes a lot for me to get pissed, and I'm beyond pissed right now… YOU, Black hair and wings, Guardian of Zootopia, that obviously means White hair and wings are in charge of the Thargoid race. Great job keeping them in check by the way. How many systems was it? Two-fifty is what I remember." At my utterance, she frowned and looked at the floor.

I began to pace back and forth without making another sound for a good ten minutes.

"Where are we really? Some kind of holding zone I presume."

"It's called a Transition world." Aleksandra said in a low tone.

"So you can control what happens then?"

"Yes." Dahlia answered.

"Good, I'm going for a walk so I don't completely lose my shit. Whether you make it daytime is your choice, but I won't be held responsible for being lost." I said while walking towards the door of the cabin. When I reached for the door handle, I found it was locked. After several half hearted attempts to kick it open with my foot, I began to punch holes in the door frame with my robotic arm. The only problem was every time I made a hole, it was almost instantly re-materialized. When I turned around, the three Guardians were gone, leaving me alone in the old cabin.

One short huff with my eyes closed later, I began to wander the halls. The entire downstairs couldn't have been more than a few hundred square feet, but the UPSTAIRS… that was one trippy show. The the hallway on the second floor was only about ten feet long and it had four doors, two on each side with nothing at the end; It was made out of the same mahogany logs as the downstairs.

I walked down the well lit hall to the first door on the right, and I noticed a midnight blue color covered the door frame. When I opened the door, my brain went into total geek mode. The inside looked like an an entire palace was just 'placed' inside, Somehow the Guardians had manipulated Euclidean Geometry into non-Euclidean Geometry.

I instantly began looking around like a kid in a candy store, attempting to figure out if their was some kind of mechanical generator that caused this incredible feat.

"Could it be atomic compression, ohhh but how would you compress the occupants?" I said while looking at the door, which seemed dozens of yards away "…. Entrance Gateway! Create an atomic… compression…. chamber. There's no chamber." I said as all my excitement left my voice. I tried to steer away from the fifth and sixth dimensional options, but found no other way that this room was this big… Unless, what if it was really just that big, and we were in a small basement underneath it all.

That thought quickly left when I realized how much wall there was on each side of the entrance. On the outside it was just a few feet, but in here it was like a hundred feet. "Sooooo confusssssssing." I whined while holding my head with both hands.

* * *

-=Guardians Pov=-

"He's quite an interesting creature, steaming mad one moment and preoccupied by simple geometry the next." Maroth, the Zootopian Guardian said while looking at Elliot.

"Oh please, we both know such things are incomprehensible to him… Yet he tries with such determination to figure out how it works." Dahlia, The Thargoid Guardian replied. "What was he speaking about with the Visions Alex?"

"I'm not sure, but if he really did have the visions of you two, he could be the key to freedom from the Scout." Aleksandra, the Guardian of Terra said while in deep thought.

The two others nodded in agreement of what she said and continued to watch Elliot attempt to figure out something that simply couldn't be figured out by a four-dimensional creature. Elliot spent many hours looking for any technological equipment that could be responsible for the room being larger on the inside than the outside.

" _*Sigh* …._ I give up... Igiveup." Eliot said at a rapid pace while throwing his arms in the air.

"It's about time." Maroth said with relief.

"Shouldn't you two be saving your people right now." Aleksandra said while watching Elliot through the massive Looking Glass in front of the three.

"Naahhh, The Raxxlans are fine." Maroth Said with a dismissal waive.

"Are you sure, The Terran warship is about to be attacked again." Dahlia said.

" _*Sigh*_ Finnneeee. I'll be back in a few days." She replied while phasing into thin air.

"I suppose I should attempt to stay the invasion of your people, shouldn't I." Dahlia said as she too, phased into thin air.

This left Aleksandra by herself to watch Elliot though the Looking Glass.

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

Now that I had given myself a proper mind fuck in attempting to figure out how the room could be larger on the inside. I started to look at what was actually in the dark green themed Palace. Everywhere I went though the black and mostly white marble structure had the same Green banner hanging down; I guess it's like the flag of this particular Guardian. When I reached what looked like the equivalent of a master bedroom, I found a relatively large bed. On the perfectly made bed, I found only one thing, a white Roman toga with a dark green sash going across it. My first instinct was to inspect the silk looking cloth, but when my hand neared it, I felt as if something was watching me. I began to look around the room for a Guardian, but no one was there. So, I closed my eyes and listened for anything, tried to feel for anyone with my sixth sense, and there it was. That ever so slight tingling that I was being watched. Oddly enough, I felt my body guiding me towards wherever the person was positioned.

When I opened my eyes, I was looking at the ceiling. "Seriously, great job there mind. YOu have officially found… the ceiling. What is that?" I said while looking at just a glimmer of something up there.

* * *

-=Guardian Pov=-

"What the hell." Alexsandra said in fascination while she looked at the Looking glass; This was a device that allowed the Guardians to view anywhere in the universe without having to actually travel there.

Elliot was looking directly at her though the circular shaped screen. Not like he was looking by her, but directly at her.

"Ehh, whatever. If they want to stalk me, so be it." He said while turning away.

"How did you do that?" Alexsandra asked herself with fascination

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

Moving on from being pretty sure someone's watching me, I rested my hand on the white part of the togas' cloth.

"Wow that's soft." And it hit me, just like the other two visions, images of another guardian flashed into my vision that blocked out anything else. I could see her, but something was wrong. There were chains around the Guardians ankles… And then she looked directly at me as if staring directly into my soul. I immediately retracted my hand and started to shiver, not the cold shivers mind you. "Okaayyy time to leave." I said while heading for the door.

After closing the very last door that led me into the small hallway with four doors, I leaned against a wall and closed my eyes to think.

"Elliot, what did you see?" When I turned my head to the left, I saw Aleksandra in her ' _natural'_ form. She was wearing a Toga similar to the one I had touched, only it had a red sash instead of the green one.

"Another Guardian I think. She was in shackles and when I tried to get a closer look… Uu-hu-huhhh that was freaky, She looked directly at me." I was no longer very angry at Aleksandra, so conversing wasn't unpleasant.

"...Elliot, I need you to be absolutely sure of what you saw."

"I'm pretty sure I wasn't just tripping off my ass. She had Super straight hair that ran down to... maybe her shoulder blades, Oh and it was really dark blue just like the door frame." I said with my eyes closed and my head leaning on the wall.

"Her wings, what about her wings?" Aleksandra said in a more frantic tone.

"I – I don't think I saw her wings. Why is this important, aren't I just getting like, little snippets from you guys." I asked while turning my head towards her. "Hey, can I call you Alex too? Aleksandra takes too long to say."

"Come with me." She ordered while walking to one of the doors in the hall, this one happened to have brown trim on the frame. I followed Aleksandra though the doorway and was met with a quite different interior; Instead of a palace, it was all oriental themed. Those weird red balloon lights hung from the ceiling, and there were plants everywhere.

"This is… cool."

"I happen to like it, I'll have you know." She replied while walking down a stone pathway.

"I wasn't joking, this is quite interesting." I said in a lighthearted tone while my eyes danced around at all the things to be seen.

"Oh, I thought you were being sarcastic. Anyway, I suppose you can call me Alex, although I prefer Aleksandra."

"Aleksandra it is." This earned her looking back at me with a smile. "So what's so important about those silly visions? if you can even call them that."

"The… the robes you touched belong to Claramond, the Guardian that died. If what you saw was real… I should tell you later."

"Way to leave a guy hanging... But it's okay I suppose… Different question then, How long am I going to be here?"

"Am I really that repulsive?" Aleksandra asked with pain present in her voice.

"NO, I-I meant how long am I going to be on this, umm… Transition world."

"As long as I need you here."

"But why would you need me, I'm just a dispos-"

Before I could finish my sentence, Aleksandra whipped around to face me and hissed. "Don't you dare finish that sentence." She had also pointed a finger at me.

"But it's true. I could be replaced and no one would miss me." I said in a depressed tone. "look at what my life has amounted to, I can't remember half of what I do because of a failed genetic test. Everyone that raised me doesn't give a shit about how I feel. I'm literally a test subject that was bound to be cast aside... I don't even think you really care about how I feel, but why would you." I mumbled while silent tears dripped from my cheeks.

"You have no idea what I feel for you Elliot, I'm linked to your very soul." She said while holding onto my shoulders. "Let me tell you this, no matter what happens to you in life, I will always care for you. You're not a nothing, but a living being that's been used."

"Yeah, and why did I get that life!? Why did I have to have just the perfect DNA sequencing for their little project. HAVE YOU SEEN MY BACK!? I've got a fu – I have a serial number on my back that says how good I am. Not a Good job Elliot, or that's a nice idea Elliot. I have a NUMBER that says level sixteen…

I just want to be a human being, is that too much to ask for in life?" I said while further breaking down into tears. I'm not sure why, but ever since being brought to this transition world, my Emotions have been running rampant.

"I know you've had it rough… Actually, it's the worst in at least a dozen generations. But I know you'll be okay eventually."

"And h-how do you know that?"

"I can see the future, remember. Come with me, I want to show you something."

" _*Sniff*_ Just give me a minute." I mumbled while turning away from Aleksandra. I didn't get much of a chance to walk away though, as she pulled me back and lifted me off the ground like I weighed nothing. "Would you not. I really just need to be left alone right now."

"You do know you're telling a Goddess what to do, right?" As she said this I was maneuvered around and being carried like an infant. A giant 180 pound infant.

"I still have an opinion."

"Elliot, just close your eyes and relax."

" _*Sigh*_ Fine." I said while closing my eyes. The way she was holding me wasn't the most comfortable position due to my head and upper back being unsupported, but I managed. In fact I would have held onto her neck for support, but I'm still not sure if I can touch her without explicit permission… " _Okay, I can't do this."_ I thought while attempting to roll out of her arms.

"What are you doing, I thought I told you to relax."

"There isn't ANYTHING relaxing about this position." I said while looking up to her face.

"Why not?" Aleksandra asked while looking back down to me with her Green eyes.

"I'm in the definition of submissive positions for one, and second, my entire upper back and head is unsupported. JUST put me down please."

"mmmm…. No."

"But I said please."

"And I said no. Just close your eyes and hold onto something, we're almost there."

After letting out a dissatisfied grumble, I closed my eyes and held onto her neck. The next few minutes were spent were in an admittedly peaceful set of sounds. I could hear the sound of a small brook running nearby as well as the sound of foot steps on the stone pavement. And then all the sounds disappeared, the stream was gone, the sound of a breeze running through the plants was gone, I couldn't hear anything at all. Ignoring that fact, I felt like I was being carried up stairs due to the downward gravitational thumps. We could be going down stairs as well, but I couldn't really tell anything other than 'We're on stairs'.

"Don't open your eyes yet." As Aleksandra said this, I was set down on something very soft and cushy.

I started to feel around for what was in my immediate surroundings. It kinda felt like a bed, but I wasn't sure without further inspection. So, I began to crawl around to find the edges of whatever I was set on on, but strangely I couldn't find an edge.

"No moving around." Aleksandra said as she pulled me to what I presume was my original position.

"Can I at least open my eyes?" I asked while propping myself up on my elbows.

"Sure."

"Final…. You made me blind again." I said in an unamused tone.

"Yes I did, and if you try to move again, I'll be forced to paralyze you. Now, I have a serious question for you."

"..."

"Do you trust me?"

Aww, why'd she have to ask that question of all things. "I – I want to trust you, I really do. But you act nice for a few minutes and just when I feel a hint of trustworthiness between us, you do something to throw it away… So no, I don't trust you. You say things like 'I care for you' And then you make me blind because I'm worried about what's in this room, or wherever we are. If you care, then show it."

"How am I supposed to show you? You're the first human I've talked to before."

"SEE, there it is again! You already told me you and your brother started every single world war in my history! I bet you don't even have a brother!" I shouted at the source of Aleksandras voice.

"WELL I LIED... OKAY!" She shouted back.

FINALLY, I had broken past her facade of emotionless behavior. "And _that_ Is why I don't trust you right there. You keep lying to me over and over and over again. So how am I supposed to know where the lies end and the truth begins." I said in a soft and quiet tone.

"I – I – I… I'm sorry. I'm sorry for lying to you about all those things. I just-"

"NO, don't you start with the I just's. That'll ruin whatever apology you've made. An apology is just that, I'm sorry."

"I know Elliot." She replied in a know-it-all tone.

"Then why did you start to say ' _I just'_ , Because all ' _I just'_ is used for is a way to worm yourself out of taking the blame for something." I waited for a response, yet It never came. The only thing I heard in the darkness of being blind was quiet foot steps and the sound of fabric ruffling at an even quieter level. "Look, I'm not perfect either, just look at my life and it'll tell the whole story." I said in an attempt to make her feel better.

"How is it that a human who's been alive for twenty-six years is more wise than me when it comes to this?"

"I'm three-hundred and sixteen, remember… But, it's because I have practice. You obviously know how to make things bigger on the inside, but for me it's incomprehensible due to being a mere Four dimensional creature as myself. How about you. I know you lied about there not being other dimensions, so what are you? Five, six, maybe even seventh Dimensional?"

"Using your crude superstring theory, I'm a Ninth dimensional living thing." Aleksandra said nonchalantly.

"Whhooaa... W-what kind of physics do you have?" I asked in complete awe. It was one thing to have access to more than one version of Earth, but the ability to access multiple universes with infinite start conditions and possibilities, that DON'T have the same physics as me… Truly mind boggling.

"I might show you later, but for me this is quite boring. _I know_ you're interested, but I don't want to talk about it."

"Just one thing then."

"Fine."

"Do you have multiple versions of yourself throughout the parallel universes?"

"Yes. Now it's my turn to ask the questions, and before you say it. I'm not giving your sight back." Aleksandra said while walking towards me.

"Ask away." I said while in deep thought.

"No Elliot, I don't go to the other universes, my job is here in your universe."

" _Where did that come fr- Oh yeah_ … It's not nice to read peoples' minds." I said while crossing my arms. "You said you were going to ask questions, so ask. Although, I don't really know what I could possibly tell you that you don't already know."

"What is it like to love someone?" She said while sitting next to me on what I determined was indeed a bed.

"Really?" I asked in surprise.

"I've never met a human before like I said, and that means I haven't met anyone to love either."

This made me pretty anxious. Why was I on a bed? Why was I blind? What was that ruffling of fabric earlier? Why did she _insist_ on carrying me? All of these questions raced through my mind at a million miles an hour, and every single one ended in one answer…

"Well, love is when you'll do anything for your partner without wanting something in return. It's when you feel better by just being around them. It's when you stay up making them soup when they're sick… That's my take on it anyway." This was quite strange having a conversation where I was teaching someone that probably knew almost everything.

"I'm in big trouble then." She said In a mopey tone.

"How so?"

"Please don't, I know what you're thinking."

"ohh." I replied quietly. Before I got a chance to say anything else, I felt Aleksandra kiss my forehead.

"I know you love her, so I won't try anything else."

I was astounded at this. "Why would you want me of all people. Compared to you, I'll be gone in the blink of an eye, just a remnant of the past. You should really be looking for a male Guardian in the other universes."

"There aren't any. We've all looked, but It seems like the only constant is ALL Guardians are female. Some have found mortals to love, but for most of us it's unending Loneliness."

This made me feel awful. It sounded all she wanted in the world was to love someone, and the one she chose was taken. But WHY, why was I so special? After all the lives I've cut short and all the mistakes I've made, Why would she choose me out of the infinitely better options out there?

"Do you think you might like me because I'm the first person you've met?"

"… Well, I wasn't completely honest about that either."

"Of _course_ not." I said in a breathy voice.

"I've met Humans when I have to directly intervene to prevent a disaster, but I've never had time to _know_ someone before."

"Yeah, because instead you play stalker from what I can only describe as a remote viewing station. Ya-know, It was always hard to describe why I felt like someone was watching me when I'm alone, but when I was in the bedroom with the green sash… it was obvious. I just never knew what it was before."

"So you did see me through the Viewing glass." She stated matter-of-factly.

"If that's what you call that dark room. Look" I started to say while sitting up. "I'm getting really tired of being blind."

The only response was her touching my forehead and my limbs losing all their strength. "I told you what would happen if you moved again."

"THIS officially sucks." I said while being gently laid back down by the Goddess.

"It can't possibly be all that bad."

"You know I start to freak out when I can't move and can't see."

"And you know I'm not Denton Paterus, so relax."

My response was an unamused grumble. "Fine, Why am I here? There must be a really good reason for me to be in your transition world. Is it because I'm your Champion, or gladiator, or whatever you want to call me nowadays."

"No, but I do enjoy your guessing. So by all means continue."

This earned another displeased grumble from me. "Is it because you're fixing my body?"

"Nope, guess again Human." She chirped.

"Sure thing Guardian." I mocked. "Is it because you need some kind of skill I have."

"Nope."

"I don't know then, I DON'T KNOW, because I'm just a STUPID HUMAN BEING!" I shouted in a burst of anger.

"Where did that come from?"

"You keep doing this – this STUFF to me!…" For some reason, all my anger instantly drained into submission between sentences. "Just get on with it, or let me go home." I said quietly.

"You don't have a home. I suppose I could make you a home once I'm done with you. But we should really get onto the task at hand. I need Focus on Claramond, focus on the Guardian you saw in chains." Aleksandra said while putting something in my hands.

"How will I see something if I'm blind."

"That's why I've restored you sight. Now focus."

I did what she said, and focused on the Guardian I saw after touching the Green striped toga. "Yeah, I'm not seeing anything." I said while opening my eyes. "Ohmygoshurnaked!" I shouted rapidly while closing my eyes.

"You have excellent observation skills."

"WHY?" I asked in exasperation.

"I was planning to do something else with you, but that didn't happen now did it." She said while resting a finger on my chest.

"y-you're not going to do that, right? I stuttered while my face started burning.

"No, I'm not... _Not yet anyway."_ Said while retracting said hand.

"I'm sorry, what do you mean by ' _Not yet.'_?"

"… I didn't say that."

"You most certainly did."

"I… didn't... say it." Aleksandra said while poking my chest with each word. I instinctively tried to move my arm to the source of her pokes, and surprisingly it did.

"Oh so NOW you restore my nervous system. Would you PLEASE put some clothes on." I said while sitting upright and turning my head away from the Goddess.

"H – How did you do that? I didn't release you from paralysis."

"I'm pretty sur-"

"NO, I most certainly didn't." She snipped back while forcefully turning my head towards hers. "Open your eyes."

"I'd really rath-"

"OPEN… THEM" Damn Goddess's can get assertive really fast. I did as Aleksandra ordered and immediately shot my eyes as far up as I could to avoid looking at her body.

"Elliot Lee Crawford, if you don't look at me this instant… You'll wish I left you to disintegrate on that ship."

" _Ooooh she used the middle name. You're totally boned."_ That's about what my subconscious said the instant she finished her sentence. I did as The Guardian ordered and brought my eyes to hers, trying with all my might not to look any lower.

"How… Did you… Do that?"

"I don't know, I just wanted to move my arms and they did." I said as calmly as possible. Have you ever gotten that angry stare from a mother, Well let me tell you. The angry stair from an Immortal Goddess makes a mother's stare look like cupcakes and tea. I could have sworn I could see fire coming fr- " _Holy shit, Fire really is burning in her eyes. How the hell does that even work?"_

"You're telling the truth?"

"Yes Ma'am." I hastily replied. After a few seconds, her Eagle like wings spread out completely and I closed my eyes instinctively, thinking something bad was going to happen. What happened next would depend on you definition of good and bad.

"I'm sorry for getting mad at you." Aleksandra said while pulling me into a hug using both her arms and giant feathery wings.

" _Body, I swear if you even start to do that, I will never forgive you."_ I thought while being pulled against the unclothed Goddess. My entire face was a clear blushing grimace from the less than desirable position.

"I just might enjoy this if you had that silly Toga on, Underwear even. Just NOT NAKED."

"I could just make us evenly clothed." She whispered into my ear.

"Okay, I can't do this." I said while pushing us apart. I immediately stood up and walked for the nearest doorway. Of course it wouldn't be as simple as that though. NOOO noo, She had to turn off the gravity, leaving me floating through the room at a slight forward spin. I quickly stopped the spin by spinning my arms in the opposite direction; Ya-know how when you're falling and you start to spin your arms absentmindedly, Yeah, your brain isn't stupid; When you spin your arms like that you're utilizing the conservation of angular momentum.

Once my vertical spin was stopped, I started spinning my arms on the Y axis to rotate myself towards The Guardian.

"HAHAHAHAHA. You look like a drugged person at rave party." Aleksandra said exuberantly.

WE...Both know… what I'm doing." I said with slight pauses while I made micro adjustments.

"It still doesn't make it any less amusing."

"Just put me down and I'll stop." I said while continuing to make micro adjustments in all three axis's.

"Now what would you do if I took away your second law of inertia?"

"You wouldn't." I said while keeping my eyes averted from the Goddess.

"Too late." She said in a high pitch voice. Sure enough all further attempts to rotate myself were in vain.

"This… Is… BULLSHIT!" I said with irritation while flailing my arms in all directions. After a few minutes of trying everything I could think of to start movement again, I huffed in defeat. "You win."

"Of course I win, but that's not what I want." She replied.

"What is it? Because if you say what I'm thinking, I'll be here for quite a while."

"It's not that much. Just tell me how I look."

"Well that would require clothing on your part."

"You know what I mean Elliot. Just tell me what you think, and I'll let you down."

"I'll see you in a few days then." With those words, I closed my eyes and crossed my arms for warmth.

"Your are quite determined, I'll give you that. How about you tell me why."

"Because I believe in modesty. It's not right to just look at someone who's naked."

"Yes but I'm literally ASKING you to look at me." She said with rising hints of frustration.

"I don't want to. I might break in a few days, but for now you're not getting me to look at you without clothing."

"I will wait." She replied while sitting down on the bed.

* * *

-=Guardian Pov, Three days later=-

"He's quite quirky." Maroth said while studying the Screen of the Looking glass. She had just gotten back from stopping the destruction of Zootopia due to human presence frightening the locals. In this time, Elliot had attempted to free himself from floating above the floor for the majority of the time. In this time he had also refused food and water, leaving him near death in the Transition world.

"Yes, I know." Aleksandra replied.

"Why do you not just place the food into his stomach?"

"I can't, There's something about him that blocks some of my attributes. I can't keep him limp or blind for more than a minute now, and he keeps-"

"I don't particularly enjoy you talking in that language. It's unsettling." Elliot weakly said though the Looking glass.

"Doing that."

"I'm not aware of Humans being able to do such things."

"They most definitely can't." Aleksandra Replied.

"Hmm… I'm going to see if I can get him to eat."

"Good luck with that."

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

It had been three days since I was left floating in the Chinese, maybe Japanese themed room. I had held strong in my efforts to defeat the Goddess desire, or whatever you want to call it. Something I realized was odd a long time ago was that I hadn't needed to use the bathroom once. Obviously I wouldn't need to a few days in due to not eating anything. But I should have needed to piss at least once. I boiled it down to The Guardian doing something else to me, so I moved on to restoring My laws of physics. Also a pointless endeavor.

I was running out of energy in my body as well. I figured that Aleksandra could wait for hundreds of years without breaking a sweat, so I gave her maybe ten days at the max before I die from water deprivation. Amusing that I can die here anyway.

"I'm not _*Cough*_ Going to eat anything." I said while keeping my eyes shut due to lubrication loss under the eyelids. "Although you're not Aleksandra."

"How do you know without seeing me? You don't have astral sight?" The woman asked.

"You don't smell like her." I replied.

"mmm, well I'm here to rescue you." Just as the woman finished her sentence, I was pulled to the floor.

"I'm no fool in the tactic _*Cough*_ Enemy of my enemy. So nice try."

"Good thing I'm not going to let you get hurt by the So called Guardians."

This had my attention, albeit weak attention.

"Well then, what's your name?"

"Zofia. How about we go to my home for now."

"Hahaha * _Cough, Cough*_ Sure, not a Guardian Zofia." With that, a few electronic beeps sounded.

"We're here. And this is for you."

"OWW." I whined from being poked with a needle to the arm. Almost instantly I felt energy run through my body.

"Don't be a baby. Oh and you can open your eyes now."

"My eyes dried out abo-"

"Yes, and I just gave you enough nourishment for three weeks, so open um' up."

"If you're naked like Aleksandra, I _will_ find a way to punch you and have it hurt." I said just before opening my eyes. When I did, they were met with the sight of a Short, brown haired woman wearing a compression suit very similar to my G-suit, only it was black with red Electroluminescent wiring running down each limb as well as on her torso.

The area we were in looked like a scaled up version of the Palace for the Green sash Guardian. Black and white Marble everywhere, but it was mixed with other types of stone to balance it out.

"Did they really do that?" She asked while raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah ' _THEY'_ very convincing. Although I will admit your outfit is quite an improvement over your last set. It even looks like an improvement over mine."

"Firstly, I can assure you I'm no Guardian. Second, I have no idea what armor you are referring to."

"Do – do you mind if I punch you?"

"What?"

"Just in the armor. I wish to see something."

"Yeah, whatever." She replied while lifting her arms slightly and letting them drop again. When I walked a little closer to the woman, I noticed her Brown eyes.

"Robotic arm, fairly advanced considering the advancement of Terra. Although, why did you not have a Synthetic arm grown, I do not know"

"Okay, how did you just now notice this." I said while raising the arm up.

"Because I just met you. Look, are you going to punch me or not?"

"Nooo, now I'm more interested in who you really are. Do you mind if I hold you hand when it's ungloved."

"Sorry, I don't do hand holding." Zofia said.

"Did it really sound like that? No, I want to see who you really are and lately touching someone's hand seems to do the trick."

"Dnprjon." She mumbled.

"Could you repeat that please. I have absolutely no idea what you said."

"Sure." She said with a forced smile while taking of one of the black gloves. When I grabbed her bare hand with mine, I was full expecting to see a Guardian."

"Huh… This usually works." I said while grabbing and releasing her hand.

"Well now that you've proved nothing, follow me."

"WAIT!" I said while raising my hand.

"What now?"

"Turn off the energy field around your hand and let me do it again." I said while pointing to her hand.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about." She said while giving me a disapproving glare.

"Fine." In an instant I reached out and pressed my hand on her cheek. Holy shit was an understatement. I saw this woman Raising Each Guardian from a giant tube filled with almost clear liquid. Then Images of two humans, and Two Lunovians coming from different tubes.

"WHAT the hell do you think you're doing?" Zofia asked while holding onto my wrist with tremendous force.

"What are you?" I asked I horror.

"Dammit, what did you see?" She asked while letting go of my wrist.

"Tubes, six clear tubes. What did you do to the Guardians?" I said, my voice still filled with fear. With all the power the Guardians held, what could possibly have more power than them.

"* _Sigh*_ I really wished you hadn't seen that." She said Just as she attempted to punch me. I deflected the punch with my prosthetic but was quickly met with another, and another. "You're quite the fighter Terran, Perhaps the best I've seen. But not good enough." And smack, I was on the floor.

"What did you do to the one in the Green Sash?" I asked though my Daze.

"I Punished her for failing her job, I am her mother after all." Zofia said just as another punch sent me into darkness.


	21. Chapter 21: Answers and Earth-1

_Chapter Twenty-One: Answers and Earth-1_

 _It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance._

* * *

"This is the third, maybe fourth time I've been knocked out! I don't particularly like it!" I shouted while my eyes attempted to focus on the surroundings. I couldn't see much due to the bright white light shining in my face, so I focused on freeing myself; I had been suspended in the air by what I can only assume was exactly the same thing as what Aleksandra did. All movements to utilize angular momentum failed and I was stuck just a few inches off the ground to add to the insult.

"Do you know who I am Terran?"

"Yeah, you're the one who knocked me out."

"That it true, but we both know what I'm asking."

This enticed me to think long and hard on what I was going to say next. After all, I should be really careful around the creature that claims to be the mother of the Guardians "FUCK… YOU."

"Wow, first time you've said that in what, sixteen years."

"How did you know that?"

"I know everything about you, a simple memory scan will do that."

"Why am I here then? I know you could kill me instantly if what I saw is true."

"It's been thousands of years since I've talked to anyone without an objective, so let's just talk. Did you know you have the Tracking gene?"

"The what?"

"Of course you wouldn't. Your federation knew about the gene and exploited it within you and Judith Crawford. Ya-know, that really is an interesting relationship. Married to who you consider your sister."

"I would continue our lovely conversation, but I don't li-"

"Like talking to a light, yes I'm aware of this. But you're actually talking to me… I am the light." As Zofia said this, the light started moving around, eventually morphing into The brown haired woman with Electroluminescent wired clothing. "I can see your fascination, but trust me. It's quite pointless for you to attempt on figuring out what I am."

"What did you do to the fourth Guardian?"

"Did you forget, she let her entire race be exterminated by your race a thousand years ago. I'm punishing her for those actions. Back onto the Tracking gene, do you know what power you possess?"

"Uhh, I can make my brain process things ten times faster than normal, and I was suppose to be immortal but that one didn't really work out."

"That's cute, you really have no idea the power I've bestowed upon you."

"Okay I'm seriously confused, who are you. I'm pretty sure you're not a Guardian anymore, so who are you."

"My name is Zofia."

"* _Sigh*_ You know what I mean." I said with a grumble.

"Very well Terran, I'm what you might call God."

"Hahaha, very funny. You might have power, but you didn't create the universe."

"This is true. Even I was created, but I created you and the other three races in the galaxy. I'm what you would call a really good Bioengineer."

"Prove it."

"Mmm… Okay." In that moment I felt a tingling sensation all throughout my body. "I have fixed all Biological issues in your body, you will no longer experience what you have named stage four. In addition to this, I have replaced your mechanical arm with the one you were born with. Believe me yet?" She asked with a neutral expression.

Of course I didn't believe her, so I started fumbling with my left arm, looking for the non-powered emergency release. Yet I didn't find it, my arm also had a pulse on the wrist, could feel pain… It was a real arm alright. The next thing to check was my bioluminescence. I first tried to activate the code on my back through subconscious interfacing.

"I removed all bioluminescent cells in your body, you won't be needing them anymore."

"Aww, I liked my glowing eyes."

"They were an imperfect design, foolish and useless. Do you believe me yet?"

"Maybe… But you'll never get me to call you God."

"I'm perfectly fine with that, now follow me. I want to show you something else." Zofia said as I dropped a few inches to the floor; All of my physics had been restored and I could now freely walk around.

"Why are you doing this, if what you're saying is the truth, I shouldn't be anything more than a speck of dust to you."

" _That_ is where you are wrong. While I have created your species almost identical to one another, a select few are given what I have called the Tracking gene. You are one of those individuals, and now that I have selected you, Judith Crawfords' genes will be changed to the standard sequencing."

"Selected me… Selected me for what?"

"This." Zofia said while resting her palm on my forehead. My vision was instantly filled with another… Well... _vision_ , only this one was in full video, not a few pictures.

"OOOH, did I pay for 3D this time?" I asked sarcastically.

"Shut up and watch."

I could see myself standing on a mountain top just like I had seen the guardians, only thank the lord I didn't have wings. I appeared to be waiting for something and after a few minutes, something did indeed happen. There was a massive Thargoid warship that came out of hyperspace, it looked hundreds of times bigger than the previous ones we had fought in history; It extended far beyond what horizon I could see in almost all directions and The whole thing appeared to be breathing as well as constantly moving on the outer surface.

In my gazing of the Thargoid warship, I had almost missed myself doing this thing like I was holding something with both of my hands… And then came the WTF moment. I pointed one of my arms directly towards the Warship and a massive almost laser looking thing shot out of my hand.

"What the hell?… What – What is that?"

"That would be a Condensed Dark Energy Beam."

"… How am I doing this?" I said as the Thargoid warship started to explode in various places. After a few more seconds, I seemed like small black holes formed around parts of the ship, sucking it into oblivion.

"This is some of the power potential of the Tracking Gene you have inherited."

"SOME!? I just destroyed a continent sized Warship with my hands!? I – I have no idea what to think about this!... I – I'm terrified… y-you just told me I could potentially destroy a planet!" I shouted as liquid started to form in my eyes.

"Elliot, relax. I'll teach you all of this. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time you blew up a few planets." Zofia said as she removed her hand from my head.

"That was an ACCIDENT!" I seethed through clenched teeth. "I – I can't do this." I said while Backing up to a door. When I opened it and ran though, I ended up on the far side of the room I had just left. I proceeded to run past Zofia several times, ending up in the same room over and over again.

"ELLIOT!" She shouted while smacking me in the center of my chest, causing me to fall on my back. "You have always possessed this power since the day you were born. You can't just use it without me unlocking the power."

"No, I don't WANT this power. I want to be normal!"

"That ship sailed the second you inherited the Tr-"

"Tacking gene, yeah. I got it the first time."

"I will excuse the fact that you just interrupted me. But let me tell you this, You WILL learn this power." She said while pointing an authoritative finger at me. "Now come, there is much to learn." Zofia said while extending a hand to pick me up. After a good minute of thinking, I reached out and took her hand. By the time I was standing, we were in a different room with dark oak flooring, walls, and massive book shelves filled to the brim everywhere. "Sit." She said while gesturing to the opposite side of a table where she was seated.

"Is school in session?" I asked with a Smirk. This was mostly to mask the absolute terror in my mind.

"Smart ass… Are you familiar with history Elliot?"

"When it comes to conflict, yes."

So you are familiar with Alexander of Macedon, Homer Magas, Carl Von Clausewitz, and Joseph Caldwell Wylie."

"Somewhat yes."

"How about the ever so ancient Thor?"

"Yeah, I know of the name, but not much about him."

"All of these men Possessed the Tracking gene, and now it has been passed on to you."

"Why was Thor so special to be said by himself."

"Mmmm, I did do that didn't I... Thor was the most successful of my students, the very first to add."

"So you met all of these People?"

"Yes, and I trained each one to varying degrees of success. Now it is your turn to take up the position of Galactic tracker."

"I'm sorry, did you say Galactic, as in the ENTIRE GALAXY!?"

'Yes, I did say galaxy. I really wish Terrans would be less… animated." She said slowly with squinted eyes. "I will be back in three-thousand six-hundred seconds to begin training." Zofia said while standing from the table. I stood with her as a show of respect and silently watched her walk into the next room.

"Wow, way to have a curveball hit yuh in the face… at mach thee." I mumbled while blankly staring at a wall filled with books. How was it my life went from test subject, to fleet admiral, to Brave explorer. Only for it to get thrown down the drain as I'm thrust into a gladiatorial battle, be loved by a Goddess and finally be told you're destined to have superpowers.

"Nah, superpowers sound too cheesy… I'll come up with a name for it eventually."

I began to think on this whole thing, and in my thoughts I found I could no longer activate my D.D.N.A.M. Maybe Zofia had really fixed my Genetic degeneration, but why would she restore my arm to the real thing. The robotic arm was far stronger than any biological arm, yet It did feel nice to have the real thing. I wasn't sure why it felt nice as the prosthetic simulated every feeling besides being ticklish and feeling pain; This caused me to gaze down at my new biological arm.

"If she fixed this… What happened to my scars?" I asked myself before rapidly standing up and lifting my shirt. Every single scar had disappeared, only leaving small pinkish spots and lines in their place. This had me quite ruffled, I had earned those scars through resolve of my allegiance to the Federation and now they were all gone; It was like I was in a completely new body by this point, and that begs the question. If you have an object that you one by one, replace the pieces until there isn't anything left of the original object, is it still the same thing, or an entirely new object?

I decided not to dwell on highly philosophical ideas, but rather attempt to recreate my visions of the guardians. So I relaxed and started thinking of Aleksandra. I spent a good five or ten minutes of doing that without success, so I switched to what she called the Looking glass. I started imagining that slight sparkle on the ceiling, and poof, I could see the inside of the room.

"Keep trying." Aleksandra said while intently looking at that strange screen.

"Yeah, I am Alex. It's like he was erased from the timeline. I can't find his DNA string anywhere in the Galaxy."

Now if I can just say something to them.

"What are you doing!?" Zofia asked in exasperation while grabbing my shoulder, effectively pulling me out of the vision.

"I was just trying to do the thing with the visions." I replied innocently.

"Don't do it again." She snipped.

"But, I thought I was suppose to learn how."

"Yes, and there's a right way and a wrong way of going about it... You should be able to utilize all of your abilities without the need to strain your body. It should be as simple as moving your arm."

"Oh... sorry. I just thought since I did it before, I'd be able to do it now."

"...Since you tried it, I might as well show you how to do it the correct way." Zofia said in a more calm tone while sitting on the other side of the relatively small table.

"Take my hand."

"I thought you didn't do hand holding." I replied while lightly gripping her hand.

"It's for training. Now, _This_ is what should happen when you want to see someone or something."

Once again, my sight clouded over and I could see Jacqueline sitting at my bedside while I lay comatose. There were also a few Federation soldiers wearing some kind of black, stealth armor around my tattered body.

"As you can see, there was no effort to view your loved one, who happens to fifteen thousand light years away."

"Where are we then?"

"Sagittarius A, My very nice home for the last dozens of millennia. Back onto your training, I'm currently doing ninety-nine percent of the work in this viewing. But now I'm going to drop my efforts to eighty percent. Ready?"

"I hope so… Yep, I can feel the load increase for sure."

"How are you feeling? And be honest about it."

"I think I'm okay, Why is this taking so much more effort than before?"

"Because you're doing it right. Your body is using the tacking gene correctly. If you had continued to use the Gene incorrectly, it would have been much harder to correct."

"Got it, don't mess with stuff unless you say." I said while starting to focus more on what was actually happening in the vision and less on the verbal lesson. I was laying on a hospital bed, hooked up to all sorts of tubing to keep me alive, and I really wanted to get a closer look, so I attempted to walk closer.

"Don't walk to where you want to go, Just think of where you want to be." Zofia said in a willingly helpful tone.

I did as she suggested and started picturing myself next to Jacqueline. "HEY, I did it!"

"Good job. Now I'm going to support you with only half the energy required, are you ready?"

"Just give me a minute." I said while looking down at the Spotted feline. She seemed so regretful in her whole posture.

"I know you want to see her, and once you can do this without my help you may be next to her all you wish during your off time."

"Okay." I said in a low tone. "I'm ready… Oooohhhh man, that's way more juice that before."

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm a little light headed, but other than that I think I'm okay." And just like that, all the strain was gone. The entire vision had disappeared and I was back in the library.

"Are you okay?" Zofia asked with concern.

"Gimme a minute." I said in a tone that all on its own said ' _I'm in pain.'_

I started resting my read on the table in front of me due to the room spinning, and I could hear Zofia stand up and walk to my side of the table.

"That was too much, wasn't it?"

"I think so."

"Well, you should know I was putting a 200% drain on that vision, not a supportive 50%." I immediately slapped her chest with the back of my hand.

"Ass."

"It's so you will be able to view anywhere without effort. I have been doing this for a while ya-know."

I didn't reply for a good fifteen minutes due to the energy I was putting into not vomiting everywhere. But once that and the spinning room disappeared. "How about we get back into it again. I think I'm okay now."

"Very well, this time I want you to instigate the vision. Simply think of standing with Jacqueline. I'll be here to stop you if something goes wrong." She said while grabbing my hand.

"Wait, I tried to do that just a minute ago and you said it was wrong, What gives?"

"You didn't try to be _with_ the Viewing Glass. You tried to _see_ the Viewing Glass."

"It make that much of a difference?" I asked with my head cocked ever so slightly.

"Hahahahaha… Oh man, I remember putting that in your biology!" Zofia said while hysterically laughing.

"What, what's so funny?"

"NOTHING." She said while instantly stopping her laughter. This kind freaked me out, laughing one second and giving me a disapproving glare the next second." Oh, would you relax. I'm just messing with your physiology."

"Not funny." I said, completely unamused at my exploitation.

"Very funny. Now, focus on being with Jacqueline."

With another low grumble about it not being funny, I did as Zofia said and pictured myself _with_ her, not seeing her. "I-I don't think it's working." I said in a defeated tone.

"Try again. Don't strain to be with Jacqueline, simply wish to be with her." She replied reassuringly.

"* _Sigh*_ Okay, here goes." I said while ' _simply wishing'_ to be with Jacqueline. After a few seconds, my vision started to partly cloud over, like the vision wanted to happen but something was preventing it. Yet I pressed on, calmly thinking of being with Jacqueline. Slowly but surely, the vision clouded over more and more until I was clearly standing next to Jacqueline. One thing I noticed this time around was I had a body, with hands and stuff.

"Can I touch things in visions?"

"It's very unlikely you will be able to, but you may try."

With that, I looked over to a bedside table that had some Jello and a spoon on it. I did as Zofia said and ' _wanted'_ to be by the Jello. This time there wasn't any wait for me to be transported right next to the Lovely green Jello. I then went to pick up the spoon, intently fixating on picking up the silver spoon… But no dice. My hand phased right through the table.

"I think by highly unlikely, you meant you can't do it." I said.

"Tomato, tomoto." She replied. "Although, you will eventually be able to talk to people though the visions ."

"Can I try it now?"

"Sure, but don't expect any results right now. Just so you know, whoever you're directing the words to will be the only one to hear them. Also, you can walk around in the visions, it's just faster in most cases to phase where you want to go.

"Okay…" I nodded in understanding while walking back to Jacqueline, who had curled up at my feet on the bed. "Jaaaaaql-"

"NO, not like that. Just talk to her."

"… Jacqueline? Can you hear me?" As I said this next to her sleeping body, I saw one of her ears twitch. "Jacqueline, can you hear me?" I said a bit more loudly. This earned a grumble.

"Five more minutes."

"Jaaaacqueline… JACQUELINE!" I shouted into her ear, causing her to spring off the bed like a scared cat, landing on all fours.

"Elliot?" She said while looking at my limp body.

"I'm over here Jacqueline." I said while waving my hand for attention.

"Elliot, you won't be able to project your body for a very long time, it takes a lot of practice." Zofia interjected.

"Can I still try?"

"...Yes."

With that, I continued to talk to Jacqueline, although she seemed to think it was her subconscious talking to her.

"Brain, SHUT… UP." Jacqueline said in a frustrated huff.

"Jacqueline, I'm not your silly feline Brain talking to you. I'm Elliot, the one comatose on the bed."

"SHUT UP!" Jacqueline shouted while covering her semi pointed ears.

"Elliot, I recommend you stop talking to her. This is how people go insane."

"But… But… But Jacqueline." I said. With a depressing huff I ended the vision, sending myself back into the library.

"That was depressing."

"No… That was astounding, even by my standards. You did something that should have taken months to learn in a few minutes."

"Really?" I asked, Now feeling cheered up by Zofia's comment.

"Yeah, that was incredible for a Terran. I need to check your nucleotides to see why you're so receptive of the Tracker Gene."

"How do you do that?"

"Already have the sample." She said while showing a vile of blood. "You should get some rest though, it'll take some time to analyze each Strand of DNA." The moment Zofia finished her sentence, I was situated in a nice looking room with a queen sized bed.

* * *

-=Zofia Pov=-

After I blinked Elliot to his room, I began to stare directly at the DNA in the Terrans' Blood to see why he was so quick to learn the Powers I gave him. If he were to be watching me, I would just be looking at a vile of blood, but I could see all the way down to Quark sized objects with my naked eye.

"So that's how you did it." I mumbled. The Terran Federation had copied the tracker Gene and spliced it into several more strands of DNA. This would give him nearly twenty percent tracker Genes, the very reason he was disintegrating. The normal percentage of this gene was usually between 0.2% and in the case of Thor 0.5% within the DNA. But with twenty percent of his DNA being Tracker, he would surpass my daughters in power very quickly.

I began debating whether I should remove the excess DNA to limit his potential, but decided I wanted to see how Powerful a Terran could become, and to what ends would he use the power.

"Almost forgot... _Elliot._ "

" _Yeah."_

"I have some memories for you." I said while giving him all the memories lost to his DNA degeneration.

"… _Whoa."_

* * *

-=Elliot Pov: Three weeks later=-

Over the few weeks I had been training with Zofia, I had learned much in the history of the Guardians and the four species of the Galaxy. I had also learned about the potential powers I could utilize, which still unsettled me to some degree. So far, I had begun to master what I can only compare to E.S.P., Although I don't have to leave my body to see something. I could easily view anyone I had seen in person or otherwise within the galaxy, even with a 500% drain of power put on me. I had also learned to project a hologram of sorts to who I was talking to so that they could see me. Another ability of the Visions was that I could now read some memories, although that concept was still hard for me to grasp. The truth was it's a byproduct of talking directly into someone's head.

One thing I tried to repair was my relations with the Zootopian people, who I found out were named the Raxxlans by Zofia. I had regular conversations with the Fox officer Nick Wilde, who at first thought he was going insane. I would have preferred to talk to Jacqueline or Judith, but both of them were bent that it was just their subconscious talking to them. I would have also talked to the Guardians as I had long forgiven them, but Zofia forebode talking to any of them other than Claramond, the imprisoned Guardian.

Today I was suppose to start training for my third ability, which was promised to be a more hands on weapon than Remote viewing someone or Psychokinetics. OH, I forgot to tell you about that. I learned to move things with my mind. MY MIND! I couldn't pick up much more than a few pounds without channeling the energy though a limb but still, I think it's pretty cool. It used something called Flux energy, but I still couldn't figure out how I channeled the energy though my body.

And finally, I had learned how to fight better, increase my reaction times naturally and become more aware of my surroundings. I honestly thought I had done fine in all of those fields, but once Zofia showed me a few things, Mind equals blown.

"Daydreaming are we?" Zofia asked.

"Yeah... I'm just wondering when I can see her in person."

"Well, once you're done here, you can live wherever and with whoever you choose."

"Really?" I asked with hope. This was one of the topics that never really got covered in my time at the Core.

"Yes, but you should know that a thousand year service term tends to outlive anyone you will love now or in the future… It's really smartest to not fall in love."

"Yeah, how's that working out for your daughters? I was talking to one of them for a few weeks and she wanted to make me hers forever."

"Yes, a fatal flaw that plagues us."

Something I wouldn't have noticed before… _US_. Did that mean she had the same-

"Today you're going to learn how to heal people."

"I do have fifteen years of medical training." I replied

"Not Advanced cellular Regeneration training, or ACR if you prefer."

"Ya-mean like the Recovery kits my wife created."

"Yes." She started to say while pulling out a large dagger. "Heal me using your power, wish me well." She said before plunging the almost foot long blade into where her liver would be.

"Shit." I muttered under my breath while rising from the table.

"You can do it. Just believe."

"Do yoooo believe in maagic?" I sung while putting my hands on her wound.

"Smart ass as usual." She replied with a smirk. I wasn't the least bit worried about her safety as this was common practice to let me use her as the practice dummy.

After a good fifteen minutes of her bleeding out onto the floor and me sitting there 'wishing her well' it finally worked. These weird white particles of light started swirling around her body horizontally.

"Now keep your hand on the wound until the particles disappear." Zofia said.

After about fifteen seconds, just like she said, all the particles disappeared. "Cool, now what?" I asked while pulling Zofia to her feet.

"Again." She said while plunging the knife into her chest.

* * *

-=Three weeks later=-

My Vision and P.K. (Psychokinetics) training was going well but I still had problems with the A.C.R. I just couldn't get the activation times to a reasonable level. But on the bright side, today a had an assignment. I was going to be sent somewhere outside the Core on a small task. I had somehow exceeded Zofias' expectations by massive amounts and according to her, I was already far more powerful that the Ancient Thor. I didn't really believe this however, I couldn't fly or shoot lightning, but I could pick stuff up with my mind, so I suppose that's cool too.

I was also keeping a close eye on my friends throughout the Galaxy. Judith had been unsuccessfully fighting the Thargoid ship I destroyed when Zofia showed me how visions were suppose to work. For most of the time I've been unconscious on Earth, or Terra as I've come to know it, She's been developing a new kind of capital ship called a Farragut Interdictor; Since the Empire and Federation Merged into the HDF Under Judith's rule, she's had unprecedented access to prototype technologies and weapons.

The entire time I've been comatose in the hospital on Earth, Jacqueline hasn't left my bedside, although she has been learning how to speak the Terran language. I had stopped trying to talk to her though the Visions because she just wouldn't listen to what I had to say. Nevertheless, I vowed that once my training was complete, I'd make it up to her somehow.

Finally, the ones I owed a massive apology were the police of Raxxla. I had held them prisoner for extended periods of time in the desert heat, Killed several officers in my delusions of Stage Four, and finally, destroyed a news helicopter out of spite.

"Are you paying attention to anything I just said?" Zofia asked in an irritated tone. "What am I saying, of course you weren't, you were busy thinking of your real life."

"Sorry Ma'am, it won't happen again."

"Mmmhhmmm, making promises we both know you can't keep won't help either. Since I have your attention now, put this on."

"Hey, it's my G-suit… But what did you do to the color? And the headpiece for that matter." The adaptable Multicam pattern had been changed to something much more exotic looking. In fact it looked like it might work way better than the Multicam, but there's only one way to find out.

"I've reprogrammed the camouflage patterns on both your G-suit and EXO-35 wingsuit. This is called Kryptek camouflage, in particular Mandrake. _That_ is the standard color pattern."

"Why not just call it woodland or forest?"

"Why don't you just shut up." She snipped back.

"Whoa, take it easy Z." I said while holding up my hands at the quite unusual outburst.

"Your mission is not in this galaxy, or universe for that matter. I'm sending you to Earth-1 The central hub of the multiverse."

"WHAT? I thought you said this was going to be a SMALL mission."

"It is. Just look at the photo." Zofia said while handing me a small picture of a man in his early twenties. Of course, I immediately tried to See him though my E.S.P ability. "You won't be able to sense him until you reach that particular universe."

"What do you want me to do to him?"

"First rule of holding the Tracker Gene, NEVER abuse your power for personal gain. That being said, this man is the Gene holder in his universe. The Zofia from that universe was talking trash about you and I want to prove her wrong."

"But you _just_ said don't use it for personal gain. Isn't this exactly what you're saying to do?"

"Tomato, Tomoto. Now, step on the pad over there, I need to change something in your DNA before you leave."

"What might that be oh great hypocrite of the universe." I said while walking to the three foot wafer with a few spirals spinning around.

"Can it Elliot, I'm in no mood today."

"What's the matter?" I asked with genuine wonder and concern.

"Personal… Issues."

"Is it that time of the month again?" I asked sarcastically while putting my hands on my hips.

"We both know I don't menstruate. That's just something I gave you Terrans to compensate for your atrocious birth rates." She said while typing away at a console across the room. After a few seconds, the Large spiraling pad below me changed from a light blue to a deep red.

"Whatcha doin to me Z?"

"I'm changing your DNA From a double helix to a triple helix."

This earned an eyebrow raising. "And why would I need that much extra information?"

"So you may procreate with any of the other species I've made. In particular, I'm talkin-"

"Jacqueline." I interrupted with awe. There's no way it'd be any time soon, if ever. But just having the option is the best gift ever.

"Yes, in addition to her, all other species of Raxxlan and Miackins will be compatible… All done." With that, the red light on the Circle shut off. The second it deactivated, I silently walked up to Zofia while she continued to look at the screen in front of her.

"Thank you." I said while pulling her from her chair and holding on tightly. At first she seemed less than thrilled I was hugging her, but after a while she returned the holding.

"Okkayyy Elliot, While I appreciate your affection, you have a job to do." She said while lightly pushing me away.

"Ten more seconds." I mumbled, earning a sigh from Zofia as her arms arms went limp. "I like your outfit, have I said that before?" I said while looking at the Black compression suit with Electroluminescent wire running all over it.

"Nope… Your mission is to Find this person, cause a ruckus, and defeat him in battle without damaging the surroundings."

"Wouldn't he be anywhere in the galaxy though?"

"No, We're in one of the only universes to master FTL travel, so consider yourself lucky."

"And what universe number would that be."

"U–Seven-eight-two-five."

Ignoring the fact that there could be at least 7,825 other universes out there, and that mine is super advanced compared to the others. "Well, what type of technology should I expect? Is my wingsuit and Non-Newtonian armor going to be enough?" I asked while gesturing to said wingsuit on my back.

"They have early twenty-first century tech besides a visionary few who have mid twenty-first century tech."

"Oh, then this should be overkill." I said as I felt a major confidence booster.

"Not exactly, I can't really tell you much more about him other than he's extremely deadly in hand to hand combat."

"Got it, keep my distance." I said while taking a few steps back.

"Good luck my protector." Zofia said as I started blacking out.

"Aww, how quaint." And with that, my vision tunneled entirely.

* * *

-=Earth-1=-

When I woke up, I was in some kind of unfinished construction complex. As I stood, I felt a little bit different, probable from a molecular vibration change when I passed between Universes; I had learned that up until the ninth dimension of Superstring theory, everything still operated on four physical dimensions, length, height, depth, and time. Past that lead to stuff Zofia said was better off unsaid because it was 'Simply un-graspable by a four dimensional creature'.

Once the tingling feeling in my body left, I started to observe my surroundings more. It was early, maybe 5:30 in the morning as the sun hadn't shown though the Construction complex. Thankfully no one was around me, this allowed me time to reach the top floor of the unfinished building.

"Wow, was this what it was really like to live way back then?" I asked myself. I could see what was called a freeway, although it confused me. Freeways were supposed to be much faster ways for people to travel, yet all I could see was automobile after automobile stacked up in one giant set of lines. The buildings weren't any better, looking old and decrepit; I eventually found out that this was normal building code here, but wow, they looked like they would fall over any second.

I sat on the edge of the building for the next hour or so, mapping out the surrounding buildings and habits of the local population. At first had just been a few people walking down the desolate streets, but now it was hundreds scurrying around in the morning light.

"Hey, you can't be up here!" Was shouted behind me. When I turned around, the person standing happened to be very buff, and what comes with a buff construction worker usually doesn't end in a polite conversion.

"Oh, sorry about that. I'll just be going now." I said while standing up and fastening my multi-camera helmet for the G-suit.

"No, you're coming with me." He said while walking closer.

"Catch me if you can." I replied while deploying the twin six foot wings from my Flight pack. With high pitched squeal of the jet turbines, I shot straight into the air. After a few seconds of gaining altitude, I took off in the direction of a large cylindrical building that had three spires evenly placed around the circumference; For me it wasn't that big of a building, but from what I had observed in their architecture, it was a gigantic building.

I began to make a few bombardment flight path spins around the building to determine if this would be a more suitable place to land. When I rounded the far side for the first time, I was intrigued by the massive amounts of damage to the structure. It looked like a chain of explosives had gone off a while ago due to the burn marks running along the side of the building and all the way to the top of a concrete and glass spire.

Another thing I hadn't noticed from the construction sight was that the building looked more like a doughnut shape than a total cylinder. I.E The large hole out of the center, not by destruction, but design. This place would be fine for the time being, it looked abandoned, and it was tall enough to give me a good view of the surrounding area, which included a large river with several suspension bridges over it it.

After a few more slow circles at couple thousand feet above the building, I landed on one of the intact spires. When I hit the roof of the spire, I retracted the wings and pulled off my helmet to get another look at the picture I'd been given.

"Where are you?" I asked myself while looking at the black haired man. When I entered the vision a few seconds later, I was confused. The only thing I saw was a cluster of orange-ish lightning, I was absolutely sure I had locked onto this man, but all I saw was lightning. This being noted, I exited the Vision and started to rationalize why I couldn't see him; If there was another version of Zofia running around this universe, she could be blocking my power, but if I was in a chicken fight between another Tracker Gene holder, that wouldn't make sense.

"Whatever, let's just try again." I mumbled while re-entering the vision. And wa-lah, I could clearly see him now. " _That was weird."_ I thought while watching the man.

"Oh, check this out. Came in on the app." Another man with long black hair said while showing my target and a women a picture.

"Wow, are those wings?" The target asked while looking at the screen.

"Shit." I mumbled, someone had already gotten my picture.

"Hey, did you hear that?" The target asked. Crap, I had just talked directly into the Tracker Gene holders head.

"Nah, didn't hear anything man." The second man said.

"Look at those, they almost look robotic." Said the single woman in the group of three.

"Hey, if so, I can track this guy using a thermal spike algorithm." The second man said while walking to a curved console in the center of the room.

" _HaHaHaHa, they think they can track my thermal signature, that's hilarious."_

"Find anything Cisco?" The Target asked the black haired man. So I had at least one name.

" _Now to find out where this person is… Right, I'm suppose to draw him out, ehh no harm in finding more information."_ I said while getting a DNA lock on the still unnamed target. "HUH." I said in a high pitch voice. "Small world." The target was in the very building I had landed on. "Hmmm, might as well get this party started." I said while deploying my rental tracking beam lasers.

I aimed at a random spot of the roof to the building and fired a quick shot. I then waited for the Gene holder to come out, maybe in the next few minutes. "What the hell?" I asked myself. The gene holder was already out here, and to pack on the confusion, he was being followed by lightning. Ignoring this very strange fact, I remembered what Zofia told me, ' _He's deadly up close.'_

I was about to take off and start hitting him from a few feet elevation, but poof. Another streak of orange lightning and he was standing behind me.

"Who are you?" The Gene holder asked.

"I'm a fellow Tracker, but unfortunately I have to be the bad guy in this instance." I said in a calm voice while retracting my beam lasers.

"You won't get very far." The tracker said while preparing a slight running stance.

"I don't recommend punching my armor-" The last part of my statement I said while holding a hand up to my mouth and whispering. "It doesn't like being forced around."

I determined this Gene holder could teleport using some form of energy, which would explain the lightning. While this was cool, I wasn-

"AAAHHHHH!" He screamed while holding his right arm, only a few inches away. Poor sap must've punched my armor after teleporting.

"Just remember that I don't like to do this mate." I said while Holding up one of my hand's. I then started hitting him with high levels of Gamma radiation, which was really the only offensive power I knew at the time. But just because it's the only weapon, doesn't mean it's not a damn good one. The other Gene holder immediately started screaming in pain from the radiation, something I didn't enjoy hearing. His skin started to burn and blister as I pumped his body full of radiation. But poof, he disappeared in another streak of lightning.

"Wait a second… He's not teleporting, he's using the Tracker gene to run fast. The lightning must just be a byproduct." I said while simultaneously relocating the Lightning man.

"Oh my God...Barry!" The woman yelled to the Gene holder, who had only run back to the room where I visioned him earlier. I was quite upset at what I saw, after the Cisco and the woman removed his red and white suit, I saw the extent of the damage I had dealt. Seeing his completely Burned and blistered state, I deployed my wings and flew to the entrance of the Building I had identified as S.T.A.R. laboratories.

I could still easily feel his presence using my E.S.P. and this allowed me to easily navigate deep within the building. When I came to what I presumed was the last concrete bend, I heard talking.

"I-I couldn't stop him. The armor, it just stopped my punch like nothing." The Gene holder, Barry said in panicked gasps.

"It's okay man, I got you covered." I heard Cisco say, just before a charging sound similar to that of a C-PAC rifle was made.

"JUST SURRENDER AND LET THIS BE ALL OVER!" I shouted while taking cover on the edge of the room.

"No way man, we can't just let you kill Barry." Cisco replied.

"You will eventually understand why I'm about to do this." I said while rounding the corner with my quantum refraction field enabled. I could See the Gene holder Laying on a hospital bed and the woman frantically working over him. The other man, Cisco, he was standing aimed at the hallway I walked though just moments ago. " _This must be one of the few people to have mid twenty-first century technology."_ Cisco was holding what I couldn't quite figure out if it was an endothermic gun, or a fancy laser pointer/Tesla gun combo. It didn't matter either way because I was standing right next to him, and he hadn't a clue.

"Boo." I said just before smacking the glowing gun out of his hands. Cisco Immediately started taking fearful steps into the Glass surrounded room where the Gene holder was laying with fear, albeit far less fear than Cisco. At this point, my refraction field was disabled and I was revealed in my Kryptek glory. The three immediately started staring at my face, or rather the spider eye looking helmet covering it.

"Whoa." Cisco mumbled.

"Whoa indeed Cisco. Tracker Gene Barry, do you fully and unconditionally surrender?"

"WHAT?"

"It's a yes or no question." I said while raising my hand to fire more Gamma radiation into him. After him not answering in a few seconds, I turned my hand towards Cisco. "You have five seconds to surrender or I will be forced to fire Gamma radiation into your friend. Sorry mate." I said towards Cisco while shrugging my shoulders. In that moment, I saw electricity run through the Gene holders eyes.

"Whatever you're think-" I didn't get much of a chance for response as the Lightning man had removed my helmet and thrown a good punch in. "Persistent, I like it." I said while activating my shield to prevent the impossibly fast barrage of attacks that would ensue if I didn't protect myself. Zofia was spot on with the ' _deadly up close'_. This Guy could run almost too fast for the eye to catch, but not quite fast enough.

Not knowing of my activated shield, the Gene holder flashed towards me for what he must have assumed to be a knockout blow, only to bounce off the shield like nothing. "Give up Barry, I really want this to be over." Something I hadn't noticed until now was the complete disappearing act of Cisco and the woman.

"Why are you doing this?" the Gene holder asked from within his re-donned red and white Suit.

"I have to defeat you so I can go home. Simple as that."

"Zoom is dead, you don't have to do this." He replied while holding out his hand.

"Who the hell is Zoom. I was sent by my Version of… Ohhh, you don't know about her do you?"

"Know about who?"

"It matters not, I believe you were trying to get past my shield." I said while Lifting my hand to fire. "Well, that's pretty cool." The gene holder had somehow made copies of himself all around the room, and while it was indeed cool, how was I supposed to beat this many? Seeing the Multiple red clothed Lightning men walking towards me, I saw one strategy.

"I surrender." I said while kneeling and putting my hands behind my head. "Although, you should really let me fix those burns."

"Yeah right." He replied as all the clones of himself disappeared. "Take off the Armor."

"Naahh, I like it on. Besides, I don't think you want to see me naked." As I finished my sentence, the capacitors for the shield generator depleted, leaving me wide open for attack. I'm pretty sure he noticed instantly because my vision went dark the next moment.

This time when I woke up, I had the mother load of headaches. That wouldn't be much of a problem though considering I could heal myself almost instantly with the A.C.R.

"Who are you?" The Gene holder asked from what I can only describe as a pod based prison cell with one Polycarbonate wall. "You don't match any facial recognition we have, so who are you?" At this point Cisco and the woman walked into the Tube like hallway with the Gene holder.

"My name... is Yankee Doodle Dandy." I replied with a completely serious face. After a few seconds, a panel on the wall next to the Gene holder lit up green and beeped a confirming beep.

"Wait, your name is actually Yankee Doodle!?" Cisco asked with disbelief.

"Nope." I replied with a toothy grin. "I'm just really good at lying. My name is also Gee Buttersnaps, or Scrooge Mc. Jones if you prefer." On queue, the Panel beeped and displayed green.

"Cool." Cisco stated while nodding his head.

"Now, I will answer one question truthfully if you do the same. This will continue until you lie. Do you accept these terms?" I asked while crossing my arms. The three looked at each other for a few seconds before The Gene holder answered.

"We accept. But we get to ask the first question."

"Fair enough."

"Who are you?"

"Heh-heh. Of course. My name is Elliot Crawford and I was born on Wolf ten sixty-one C. There, you get a bonus tidbit."

Almost immediately, the woman started whispering something I couldn't hear… So I just listened into her brain.

"This guy's crazy. That's a planet fifteen light years away." She whispered to the other two. I then exited The E.S.P To reply.

"ACTUALLY, Wolf ten sixty-one is thirteen point three light years away from Sol."

"Sol?" The Gene holder asked.

"Sol, Earth, Terra, Home. Take your pick. Now ignoring the fact you think I'm crazy miss lady woman. My turn with a question."

"Yeah, we're going to have to renege on that deal man." Cisco replied.

"Aww, and I thought I wouldn't have to break out of here. Too bad you couldn't get my suit off." I said while cramming my gloved hand between the Two panes of glass holding me in. After a few seconds of me opening the door further and further via the small Exoskeleton within the suit, I decided that wasn't the best course of action.

"What if I healed your burns, I really don't like seeing you in all that pain." I said while letting the glass door shut once more.

"Dude, how did you do that!?" Cisco asked.

"I've already answered your question, and you ' _Reneged'_ on our deal." I said while placing a hand on my chest, not for the reason you might think. After a few minutes of them attempting to get information out of me, I finally got my healing to work. My entire body was surrounded by white particles of light and within a few seconds, my headache was gone with the particles.

"Why do you look so astounded, I do have powers like Lightning man over there."

"It's The Flash."

"Oh my bad 'The flash' I just hadn't had the chance to know who you are, and I still don't like digging around in someone's memories."

* * *

-=43 Minutes later=-

The three had left me in this quite lonely cell nearly an hour ago, so I decided to bug them until they came back. The first one to be subjected to my shenanigans was Cisco. I used a combination of my E.S.P. and the Psychokinetics to create all sorts of unexplainable things. For me, it was as if I was standing right there with them, but they'd never know unless I wanted them to.

"How ya doin Barry?" The woman asked from the Gene holders bedside.

"Yeah man, L-rad gave you quite the hit." Cisco added.

" _L-rad… I like it._ "

"I'm fine guys, really. I just can't figure out how he opened the containment chambers and used an ability with the dampening field active." Barry the Gene holder said from the hospital bed he was laying in.

" _I can tell you how I did that, but nooo you didn't want to accept my terms."_ I was indeed feeling a drain coming from the walls of the ' _Containment chamber'_ But could still utilize all my abilities.

"Uh, guys. Who let the ghosts out?" Barry asked while pointing to the floating marker I was controlling.

"Cait did it." Cisco said rapidly while pointing a finger at the woman. Finally, I had all of their names without needing to sift through memories.

"CISCO." Cait replied while crossing her arms. This was enough for me to stop my main message and write a much smaller one.

 _For shame Cisco, For shame. ;)_

"Well it definitely knows my name." Cisco replied.

By this time I had finished my main message.

 _Hello People of Earth-1. My name as you already know, is Elliot Crawford. Oh yeah baby, I'm a Telepathic as well. I'm impressed with the drain put on me by this containment chamber, but it's not nearly enough to drown out my abilities._

 _I would like to warn you about my Wingsuit and it's danger. It tends to be quite defensive of people other than me, so I would advise against attempting to reverse engineer it. In addition to this, I would still like to heal The Flash because I don't like people to suffer. I can see he is much better than before, but still._

 _I will be listening for your answer._

"Well isn't that something." Cisco said in mild astonishment.

"Yeah, maybe we should give the loony toons show another shot." Cait replied.

 _I said I could hear you, and I'm not a loony toons. If you will allow me to show you my memories, it will explain everything and why I'm here._

"Wait you can hear us, right now!?" Barry asked.

 _Yes, and I could be talking directly into your head if I wanted to._

"I find that a bit har-"

"Can ya hear me now Cisco." I said directly into his head.

"Whoa, he ain't joking." Cisco said in an awestruck tone.

 _Now can we get on with the face to face conversation. Or will I have to start drawing on you people._

Once I finished writing on the board, I pointed the marker at Cisco and started slowly moving it towards him. After chasing them around with the floating marker for a few minutes, they agreed to come back down and talk to me, but of course Cisco brought the Endothermic gun. When the three rounded the corner, I was already standing outside the containment chamber.

"CISCO NO-NO-NO!" But it was too late, Cisco in his panic had fired the gun at me, creating a flamethrower like wall of Ice. I was pretty worried that I wouldn't be able to hold back the blast, but I guess I'm pretty tough. When he stopped firing, I was levitating a giant ball of ice a few inches off the ground. "Are you done yet!?" I asked in irritation before dropping the ice ball and ripping the primed Ice gun from His hand with my P.K. Ability. "Barry, please let me fix you. I don't know why I thought I could do this."

"Yeah, you're not getting near him." Cait said while stepping in front of the injured man.

"I can do this… I can do this" I mumbled before putting my hands near each other, making an open spherical shape. Shortly after this, a few sparks formed in the open space, followed by a small Sphere of Light-sucking energy.

"If you don't let me fix him, I will be forced to release this small amount of Dark Energy at you." I said as the sphere grew to about an inch in diameter.

"So let me get this straight, you're going to shoot us if we don't let you heal me?" Barry asked.

'Yeah, that's right. Does it make any sense? No, no it does not."

"Just a quick question, how powerful is that thing you're holding?" Cisco asked.

"I have NO IDEA, this is the first time I made one. But considering it's the same energy that's responsible for accelerating the expansion of the universe, I'd go with pretty powerful."

"… I'll do it." The Gene holder Barry said while walking towards me.

"Wow, hold on lightning pants… Ya-see, I'm not actually positive how to get rid of this thing. I can hold it no problem, but as far as dissipating the energy, I'm open to ideas."

"Yep, we're definitely gonna die down here." Cisco replied while nodding his head.


	22. Chapter 22: Friendly conflicts

_Chapter Twenty-Two: Friendly conflicts_

 _People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do._

* * *

"Yep, we're definitely gonna die down here." Cisco replied while nodding his head.

"NO, we're fine, I just need to shrink the sphere to a manageable… Whoops." I said as the golf ball sized light sucking sphere grew into the size of a softball. "I need somewhere to put this."

"You could use the Containment chamber, that should be plenty to hold whatever that is." Cait said with uncertainty.

"Are you _absolutely_ positive?" I asked with doubt that a measly prison cell could hold what I held in my hands.

"Well, not O _ne-hundred_ percent." She replied while shrugging and holding up her hands.

"Then I'm going to keep trying to get rid of this thing until you find a sure way to contain this thing." After I said this, I started thinking of all the ways I had been taught how to activate my abilities. For the E.S.P, I was told to want to be with a person or place. The T.K it was similar in wanting to lift the object, but at this point it was all subconscious. I still had to wish someone to be well with my Advanced cellular regeneration. That was the pattern, wish the things to be, but I didn't quite get it. I sure wished the Dark energy would disappear, yet it only grew in size.

"Gene holder, get those two out of here, I don't plan on having any more deaths to add to my tally."

"Wait, what do you mean by _Anymore_?" Cisco asked while holding a single hand out.

"I just might be the best fleet admiral that ever lived, and I mayyyyy have…. Blownupfivestarsystems, but I can assure you it was an accident." _Doesn't make it any less my fault, or wrong._

"What happened?" Barry the Gene holder asked.

"I'll tell you as soon as your get them out of here. OHH, and get my wingsuit, we may need a shield."

"Dude, you gotta tell me how that thing works… Ya-know, after you fix the black hole in your hands." Cisco said just before he and Cait were whisked away by the Gene holder.

"So have any ideas lightning man?"

"It's the Flash."

"Yes, and apparently I'm now L-rad, but our abilities stretch much farther than that." I said while effortlessly dissipating the Sphere of dark energy. "Do you know how you received your powers." I said while walking towards the red clothed man.

"Wait, I thought you said you hadn't ever made one of those before." He replied while backing up with my EXO-35 in hand.

"I did say that, didn't I. Now answer the question." I said while raising him a few inches above the ground to prevent escape.

"Y-you lied. Why would you try to get me away from Cisco and Cait."

"Because what I'm about to tell you won't _EVER_ leave this hallway." I said while simultaneously crushing the security camera in the hallway using my T.K. "Now if I put you down, are you going to go all light speed on me?"

"...No."

"Barry, Barry, Barry. I can read your mind, why are you lying to me? I simply want to go home, and there's only one way that can happen."

"You have to fight me."

"How very smart. But for now I wish only to heal you, we can fight on more agreeable terms at a later time."

"And why is that?"

"Well, I haven't gotten much for time off from my training. Now stop stalling, I will ask you again. Will you attack me if I put you down?"

"Prove what your saying is true, that you really come from the Wolf planet, and I might reconsider."

"Sorry, might isn't good enough for me. I need to know that you're safe to be around until I leave for my universe."

" _*Sigh*_ … Fine." With that, I put the gene holder on the ground and walked up within reaching distance.

"Do you want to see where I'm from before, or after I heal you?"

"...After." He said while crossing his arms.

"Okay, this might take a minute or two, I still haven't figured out the A.C.R completely." I said while resting my hand directly on the circular lightning bolt insignia that's located in the center of his chest. After a few minutes of dead silence while I _wished him well_ , White particles of light swirled around his body. Barry started looking all around at the particles, but otherwise remained quiet until they dissipated.

"How do you have so many powers, all the other Metahumans only have one." The gene holder Barry asked while I affixed my Wingsuits' six point harness to my body.

"Metahuman? What are you talking about, there's only one Gene holder per lifespan, if that. I replied while activating the adaptive color pattern on the Wing/G-suit. After a few seconds, the Camouflage changed from greens to an urban set of grays. (Kryptek Raid)

"Really, you must not have meta- Whoa, it does that too?"

"Hmm, Oh, yeah. It can change to any environments color pallet. Now back onto the Metahuman thing, are you saying there's other Gene holders in this universe?"

"Uhh, yeah, like hundreds. After the particle acc-"

"Listen, I don't mean to be rude, but I don't care. I just want to take a quick day off and go home."

"...Fine, just show me your world before I put you back in that cell."

"Yeah, cuz it worked so well last time." I said while reaching out towards His head. "This may hurt a little." I said while showing him my memories, memories of planets, people, wars, capital ships… And the Apollyon disaster. When I removed my hand from his head, Barry was heaving and had fear stricken across his face.

"A-A-All those people." He said in horror.

"Yes, I killed them all at the age of sixteen. Now you know I tell the truth when I said I was from Wolf-1061c.

"H-how could you do that!?"

"YOU THINK I WANTED TO! I would give ANYTHING to undo that mistake, ANYTHING to save those innocent people!" I seethed. After a good amount of pacing back and forth, I had calmed down. "I'm sorry for boiling over like that, it's just a sensitive topic."

"… It's just not everyday someone kills billions of people." He mumbled after a few seconds.

"Things like that are considered _acceptable losses."_ I said glumly.

"Wow, and I thought my world was messed up."

"Your friends aren't to hear a breath of this, do I make myself clear?"

"Yeah definitely, but just one question about that woman in the sand."

"No." I replied in a flat tone.

"Huh?"

"You don't get to ask about someone I watched die… The others will be suspicious by now, we should go." I said while walking past the Gene holder, who quickly caught up.

"Shouldn't I lead, you don't know where to go."

"No need, I've locked onto Cisco's' DNA."

"Uhh, okay." Barry said with confusion. "How big was that ship you controlled?"

"Commanded… It was Two kilometers or one point six-two miles long. Yes, we have very big ships. But onto more important matters, What do you call the source of your power. Because if my query is under the correct pretenses, you just have a different name for the Tacker Gene."

"Well, We call it the Speed force. Why's it called the Tracker Gene to you?"

"Because it's a power embedded into my very DNA, most likely yours as well. Hey, did you by chance draw my blood while I was unconscious?"

"No, why do you ask?" Barry asked while walking along side me.

"No reason in particular."

"Now, it's my turn to say you're lying. Why do you not want us to draw your blood?"

"Just between you and me?" I asked to which Barry nodded. "I have a triple Helix."

"DNA?"

"Yep, just got it." I said with a childish grin.

"I-I don't even."

"Don't even what Barry?" Cait asked with a serious glare and crossed arms. Barry immediately looked to me with a 'save me' face.

"It's classified, any more information would require a level five-A deoxyribonucleic scan to determine if you have the correct clearance." The instant Barry heard this, he tittered and choked at the same time. "Careful Barry, wouldn't want you catching the Mycoid virus."

"OOH, sounds like something from a videogame." Cisco butted in while rounding the corner.

"Trust me, it's no joke." I said with a glare that could kill. "Relax would ya, it's just for killing bio-ships."

"I'm sorry, did you just say Bio-ships, as in LIVING SHIPS!?" Cisco asked with excitement.

"Uhhh, no... OOOH, what's that?" I asked while pointing at a computer that had just popped up a red triangle. Cisco squinted as me for a few seconds, but turned around and looked at the computer screen I was pointing at.

"Robbery in progress at First union depository."

"I'm on it, and you're coming with." The gene holder said while pointing at me.

"Not my problem lightning pants."

"You want my trust and help going home? Then you're coming with me."

"* _Sigh*_ Gimme the helmet and I'll come." In about half a second, Barry disappeared and reappeared with my G-suits' helmet in hand.

"Dude, I tried to analyze the armor on that thing, but I can't identify a _single_ element." Cisco said while I fastened the straps on the helmet.

"Can't help ya with that one Cisco. Gene holder, shall we depart for this bank." I said while ushering Barry to the concrete corridor that leads outside. He smiled while flipping his hoodie/face covering thing over his head.

"You may feel a bit dizzy after this." He replied just before I found myself outside the S.T.A.R labs building.

When I tried to walk forward, I was met with the worst lightheaded feel ever. "You ever do that again and I'll kill you." I said in a half joking tone while I deployed my wings. When I looked over to Barry, he had a worried expression. "Kidding, jeez. Lead the way lightning pants." I said while spooling up the jet turbines.

"You think you can keep up?" He asked in a doubting tone.

"Try me." I said just before shooting in the air a few hundred feet. Almost instantly, the Gene holder barreled down the roads at what must be near supersonic speeds, not that It was a problem to keep up. One, my suit could already reach mach 1.5, and two, I didn't have to follow the roads like him. The only problem was my inability to know where he was going, and with us reaching skyscraper area, I had to start following him through the streets, which made it a bit harder.

"What happened L-Rad, can't keep up with the flash?" Cisco mocked though the communications system in my helmet. Apparently the Gene holder had already made it to this Bank, although I wasn't too sure on what a bank was.

Back onto the fact that I lost the Gene holders location, it wouldn't be too hard to track him considering I had a DNA lock on his body. When I rounded the last skyscraper, I was almost impressed. There were seven men using technology that would be far more advanced than Ciscos' Endothermic weapon. It looked like one of them had a railgun of sorts while the others had something that looked like flamethrower but in a condensed beam of fire.

"How ya doing Lightning pants?" I asked while hovering a few hundred yards down the road.

"I sure could use your help!" He said in a panic. All I could see were beams of fire being directed towards lightning streaks, suffice to say I was amused.

"This is what happens when you don't coordinate with your support." I replied while deploying my eye tracking beam lasers. I would have no trouble picking the Thief's off from here. In fact, I could do it from miles away using the zoom feature in my helmet. With a squeeze of my thumb to my index fingers' middle knuckle, the railgun holder was cut in half, leaving no blood to be seen from the instant cauterization of the wound.

"WOW, dude. You can't just kill someone like that!" Barry yelled through the communications headset in a winded voice, probably from dodging the other beams of fire aimed at him.

"Yes I can." I replied while effortlessly cutting two more in half with my yellow beams of light. "Where I'm from, robbery on this scale is a capital crime, punishable by death on the spot."

"WELL IT'S NOT HERE!" Barry screeched with anger.

"Jeez, I'll just maim them then." I said while retracting the lasers for some hand to hand action. Once I was within range of the five remaining men, two opened fire on me. This was a cakewalk of anti air fire, normally I had to deal with four times the concentration of munitions and lasers, all of which fly much faster than fire.

"Attention, energy blasts exceed one-thousand five-hundred degrees Celsius." Was said into my headset by the Wingsuits' onboard computer. Once I processed this, I had the total ' _come at me bro'_ idea.

"Barry, watch my badassery." I said while landing a few feet away from the two men who were firing at me. Of course they fired again, but I casually walked right into the beams of fire, which enveloped my entire body. After a few seconds, they stopped firing.

"Aww, Having performance issues? Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." I said to the awestruck thieves. Once I was within reach of the first one, I put my hand over the barrel and put out the flame. His response was a punch to the chest, followed by clenching his broken hand from the impact. All it took on my part was one punch, and out he went, probably from my hands being like steel fists from the armor. The next guy drew a knife and started swinging it wildly. I easily dodged the attacks and disarmed him, followed by me putting my left arm under his armpit and a foot on his thigh. I then rolling us both, backwards for me, forwards for him and when I came up, he was on his back and I had a knee on his armored stomach.

"SURRENDER OR DIE!" I yelled while drawing a plasma knife from my left leg.

"You won't do it, your a hero." The man spat.

"I'm no hero." I said while plunging the blade into his face, effectively silencing him. When I re-sheathed the plasma blade and stood up, the Gene holder had dealt with the other three.

"You didn't have to kill him." He said in a quiet tone.

"I offered surrender, and he declined. Remember that." I said in a serious and unamused tone while deploying my wingsuit.

"How can you just kill like that, man?" Ciso asked in a forlorn voice though the communications.

"I won't say how, but Barry knows first hand of why I don't care about the lives of a few thieves. I don't know what you do here, but I can tell you firsthand they would kill the lot of you or anyone else that stood in their way without a second thought. If that's not a good enough reason for you, then we surely won't get along." I said while refraining from exceeding subsonic speeds.

"Barry, lets just get this over with. Meet me in the large black opening by the star labs."

"You mean the parking lot?" He asked in response, although I could still hear animosity in his voice.

"Sure, if that's what you call it."

By the time we arrived, Cisco and Cait were standing in the parking lot with irritated faces. I paid no attention to them while I landed and retracted my wings.

"I'm going home one way or another. So prepare to defend yourself." I said while walking a few meters away from Barry.

"What!?" Cait shouted.

"This is the only way she'll take me home. But don't worry, I won't kill you, I just need you to surrender."

"Fine, I surrender." Barry replied.

"Yeah, that won't cut it… DEFEND YOURSELF!" I yelled while raising my hand to fire Radiation.

"You don't have to do this Elliot. We can find another way to send you home." Barry said while holding a hand out.

"Yeah! And what happens when she sends me back five minutes later, what then Barry!?" I asked while slightly lowering my arm.

"Who is she?" Cisco asked while he rested a hand on his chin.

"It doesn't matter who, but what. She created all intelligent life in my galaxy, gave me my power, and transported me here. Unless you can beat a creature with what seems like the power of God, this is the only way… Enough stalling." I said while firing Gamma Radiation into the stunned gene holder, who almost instantly ran out of the way and towards me in a streak of lightning. I had about half a second to bring about my plan, which I had never done before. I switched from radiation to T.K and pushed Barry's legs out under him while stepping out of the way. The Red clothed man fell face first and while he slid across the pavement, I blasted him with Radiation and received a most unsettling scream in return. I didn't let up on the energy while I sprinted closer to where he was writhing in pain. Barry continued to scream in pain while I ripped each and every cell apart with the Gamma rays.

"Please surrender so this can be over." I said while kneeling down to the dying Gene holder. His response was a slight nod, probably from an inability to talk. "Are you nodding, yes I surrender?" I asked, to which he nodded though steaming clothing.

"Very well. I really am sorry I had to do this." I said while resting my hands on his abdomen for A.C.R. Strangely, the Advance Cellular Regeneration instantly activated, and white particles of light started swirling all around his Supine body. I must have really wanted him to be well, at least that's what I rationalized for the reason of how fast I got the A.C.R. to work.

"Get off of him!" I heard a female shout from behind me, who I had come to know as Cait. She was running towards me, but I heard her being held back by someone.

"Take another step and I will end you where you stand." Came an authoritative female voice. "Elliot, you have done well. I think you're ready for deployment as the Galactic tracker." She said.

After a few seconds of reeling who it was, I replied. "...Why would you have me do this?" I started to say while continuing to heal the Fellow Gene holder. "Why would you have me fight this nice man. He's no match for me, even without my power."

"Yes, but the speed force seemed to think him all that. So I proved her wrong." Zofia said from behind me.

"How do you know about the Speed force?" Cisco asked.

"Know about her, I _am_ her from another universe. But I will not answer to someone who has artificially activated the Gene. Why the Speed Force hasn't erased you from the world is beyond me, but I will leave her to govern her own universe... Elliot, come along."

"I'm not done healing him yet."

"That's not your concern, now _Come_ along." Zofia said while dragging me away from the still severely injured man. This drove me over the edge, and I rammed my knee into her face in retaliation.

"Don't Fucking touch me." I warned.

"Oooh, do you kiss your mother with that mouth, oh that's right. You don't have one." Zofia replied coldly, not seeming fazed by my knee at all. As she said this, her Electroluminescent wiring started to glow brighter.

"Ohh, that's a low blow Girl." Cisco interrupted.

"You may have given me these powers, and may be able to take them away, but I will NEVER be treated like a possession! I've put up with your shit for the past six weeks where you've kept me prisoner from my loved ones and any other living being. But no more."

"And what do you think you can do about it?" She asked with a smug little grin. The second she said this, I made the largest ball of Dark Energy I could, somehow creating it instantly. Instead of a golf ball sized sphere, I made a basketball sized light sucking orb.

"I will end myself, ending all chances of getting the perfect soldier, twenty percent Tracker and all."

"So you figured it out. How you have kept these thought from me is quite puzzling. I'll be sure to extract that information while I take what you call a soul."

"Try me." I said while releasing the Dark energy as a beam, like I saw in my first vision.

"Okay." She replied while catching the beam and making it disappear into thin air. "Did you really think you could even attempt to beat me?"

"Nope." I replied while deploying my wings and launching into the air. I had hoped to fly as fast and far away from her as I could, but that didn't really work out; The instant my wings deployed, Zofia used her own version of psychokinetics and forcefully pulled me to the ground. Before I could make another attempt at escape, She picked me clear off the ground via the chest strap on my Wingsuit and started walking us towards the Still Injured Gene holder.

"Just for your defiance, you now have to kill him." She said while dropping me next to Barry.

"You'll have to do it yourself. Because I'm done listening to your lies." I said while slowly putting myself in between the irradiated Barry, who was starting to move around a bit. Cisco and Cait remained silent though this whole thing while they slowly moved towards Barry.

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about, but please, do tell me when I've lied to you."

"A few days ago, I was doing the drills you told me to, I was reading every mind I could think of. But I thought, why not see what's in your head, and ya-know what I heard… ' _I almost feel sorry for the Terran, it's really too bad he thinks I'm going to let him have a life.'_ Have any comments on that one?"

"Yeah, Why would you think I've taken so much time to train you if I was going to let your skills go to waste. You're the Best Gene holder I've ever trained, I can't just let that get wasted in some Raxxlan female."

So it was really true, Zofia never planned to let me have a life. I was going to be imprisoned just like the Guardians, and there was no way of beating her. It was like she really was God, although I'm never going to call her that because no God would do this to someone.

What could I do to escape, all my power was brushed off like a drop of water, and now she wanted me to kill the Gene holder from this universe… Wait, if the gene holder is personally protected by the 'Speed force' as she called herself in this universe, couldn't I enlist her help to defeat Zofia? Or would she just consider Barry an acceptable loss and find another Gene holder. Only one way to find out.

Just as I attempted to reach the Speed force through my Visions ability, three men, about eight feet in height appeared behind Zofia; All three were wearing a similar compression suit as Zofia, but the Electroluminescent wire was blue instead of red.

"Zofia, you have been summoned by the court for rupturing of the Universal plane." One of the men said while approaching Zofia, who by this point had lost all smug expression.

"Who are you?" Cisco asked.

"That is not of your concern." One of the Giants replied while grabbing hold of Zofia's arm. Just when I thought it was over, She used the unrestrained arm to fire a massive beam of yellow light into my chest. When I looked down, my chest had a five inch hole straight through it, the G-suit, and wingsuit. Upon looking back up, Zofia had a sinister grin on her face while being dragged into a blue vortex by the Eight foot men. After a few more seconds, it was all over, Zofia was gone and I was free from her… minus the hole in my chest.

A few stumbles later, I fell flat on my back and started suffocating. My body must have been in so much shock from the wound that I didn't feel pain, but I knew it was a deadly injury. Once my hand rested over the hole in my body, the Advanced Cellular Regeneration started its magic. I turned my head towards the other gene holder, who had his friends kneeling over his burnt body. He was now moving a bit more, but still seemed in a great deal of pain while his friends took off the red leather suit of his.

I attempted to say sorry, but nothing came out, probably from my diaphragm being incinerated along with the lower portion of my lungs. So I laid there attempting not to slip into unconsciousness while my body was healed. But I wasn't healing fast enough, I knew I wouldn't be able to fix myself in time… So I did my job, to be the protector of that galaxy.

Slowly but surely I scooted within grasp of The other Gene holders foot. Cait tried to bat me away, but I held onto his ankle while activating the A.C.R for Barry, at least one of us would live. White particles quickly surrounded his body, but I couldn't do it much longer. I had maybe twenty more seconds before I would black out, but that should be long to heal him to a manageable state. So that's what it did, I put every ounce of energy into healing this stranger.

"Hello Elliot." A familiar female voice said in the direction of my feet. I tired to look down but the G-suits helmet blocked my view. Before I could remove my helmet to see her, the woman walked into view.

She looked so familiar, almost like I knew her my entire life. But I just couldn't put a name to the face. After a few seconds of pause in my thoughts, I knew who it was. "Mom." I whispered.

"Don't talk sweety, you're going to be just fine." She softly replied while resting a hand on my chest and my back. After a second or two, my entire chest was filled with unbearably bright white light. My chest felt hot, almost unbearably so, yet I found I could talk again.

"Hhh-how are you alive?" I asked while tears filled my eyes.

"I'm not sweety... I'm not you mother, just a replacement." She cooed while the light in my chest grew brighter. For the next few minutes I laid in silence while looking at whatever appeared to be my dead mother.

"I-I-I want to see y-you with my own eyes." Just like that, the helmet was off my head and I could see my mother without a tactical overlay in my vision.

"Elliot, I'm not her, so don't cry."

"You know I can't help it… You look just like I remember her." I said while reaching up to one of her cheeks.

"I'm almost done sweetie, then you can heal the other Gene holder and we can go home." She said as the light in my chest started to fade away. Now that the light was at a bearable level, I glanced to the hole in my chest, which was no longer a hole. Only a small wound like if you were to be stabbed with an ice pic.

"Home?" I asked with confusion.

"Yes, wherever you think home is, I will take you there."

"… What's your name?" I asked while slowly sitting upright. After a moment of what I boiled down to her picking a name, she responded.

"You can call me Rachel. Now heal the damage you've done." Rachel said in a commanding yet gentle tone.

I looked to the hole in my chest and confirmed it was completely healed, although my g-suit and wingsuit still had a massive hole straight through. With a quick press of a button on my stomach, the entire wingsuit and harness fell off my body. I then crawled to Barry's side and laid my hands on his chest. In about five seconds of me wishing him well, the white particles of light swirled around his body and started the mending process.

"Dude, who was that chick!?" Cisco asked from the other side of Barry's chest.

"Her name's Zofia, she's the one that made me to this to your friend."

"How are you not dead?"

"You can't see her, can you?" I asked while looking up to Rachel who was standing behind and to the left of me.

"See who?" Cait asked, she was also kneeling at Barry's side.

"Touch my chest and I might be able to show you, unless she doesn't want to be seen."

"I'm good, but Cisco would love to." Cait said, which earned a thump in the shoulder from Cisco.

"I know touching my chest is a bit weird, but you have to touch my skin for me to give you the vision." Cisco gave me a strange look, but hesitantly put a few fingers where the hole was made in my armor. I used my Vision, power, ability… I still need to come up with a good name for that. I used the Thingy to let Cisco see the woman behind me, and I could tell he saw her.

"Duuuuuuuddde, This is sooo coooool. Cait, you gotta see her." Cisco said in awe.

"I'll just take your word for it." She replied while crossing her arms disapprovingly.

"So, how did you get your Gene activated Cisco?" I asked out of the blue, hoping to avoid the awkward topic of almost killing their friend.

"Huh, what are you talking about?"

"Oh, that's right, you call it something different. What are your powers? And don't bother lying, I can tell very easily." By this point, Barry was substantially better, but still hat burns all over his body.

"I-I don't know what your talking about." He replied while furiously shaking his head no.

"Uh-huh, whatever. It's not very good interdimensional edict to lie about things like that."

"And how is filling Barry full of radiation any better?" Cait asked with annoyance.

"It's not, but I am trying to make amends as you can see. Speaking of which, how ya doin Lightning pants?" I asked while looking at Barry.

"It's the Flash." He mumbled back.

"See, lightning pants is doing fine, isn't that right ' _The flash'_?"

"What happened… All I remember was you saying something about being sorry… And then pain."

"Oh, dude it was awesome. This chick in Red wire popped in out of nowhere and told L-rad to kill you, but he refused and tried to kill her. Then she was like, naw you don't stand a chance, and then L-rad tried to run away-"

"Tactical withdrawal." I corrected, even though it was definitely a full retreat.

"Yeah, whatever. But she pulled him back with the force, and then these three giant dudes came in from nowhere and pulled her through a portal, but not before That chick hit L-ra-"

"It's Elliot-" I interrupted again. "And while I do appreciate the cool name, its getting old." I said as the White Particles around Barry started to slowly dissipate in concentration.

"Right, _Elliot_ got hit with this giant laser and had this big hole put in his chest, but then-"

"Cisco, I think he gets it." Cait interrupted.

"Elliot, It's time for you to go home, Say your goodbyes." Rachel said while resting a hand on my shoulder. I briefly looked back to her and nodded.

"Heyyyy, sooo... bye." I said while standing and walking away from the three.

"Hey, wait a second." Barry said while sitting upright.

"Yeah?" I asked while picking up my destroyed wingsuit.

"How are you going to get home?" He asked.

"I have my very own interdimensional guide to take me, but you can't see her."

"Oh, well good luck with… What did you do again?" Barry asked while standing up with the help of Cisco and Cait.

"I'm several things now. Fleet admiral, space explorer, Galactic tracker… Take your pick."

"Wow, that's a lot on your plate."

"Yeah… Listen, if you somehow find a way to travel between dimensions, I'm on Universe… Uhh, what was it… Universe Seven-Eight-Two-Five. I probably won't be on earth, but you can look me or my wife up at a library."

"What's her name?"

"Judith Crawford. See ya later lightning pants, Cisco, Miss lady woman." I said while holding up a hand as a waving gesture.

"Are you ready to go home Elliot?" Rachel asked while standing next to me.

"Yeah." I replied as my vision once again faded to black.


	23. Chapter 23: Humanity's last hope (Final)

_Chapter Twenty-Three: Humanity's last hope_

 _It is not necessary to change, for survival is not mandatory._

* * *

When the black tunnel of my vision cleared, I wasn't in the hospital where Rachel said I would be. I was on the edge of a forest and a meadow. To one side were unending trees, and to the other grew tall grass and flowers of all colors. The sky was a bright blue with a few white clouds dotted around, and the sun seemed to be in the stages of early morning or late afternoon.

I almost instinctively dropped my destroyed Wingsuit and stripped off my damaged G-suit, which had changed to a set of greens, browns, and grays; I think Zofia called it Kryptek Mandrake. Once the suit was completely off, I could feel the warmth of the sun combined with a slight breeze that caused the tall grass to waver ever so slightly. The trees didn't really bow in the breeze, only giving off a quiet whistling sound from the wind.

Even though I wasn't in my real body, I was happy. In the near distance I made out a camp of sorts, surrounded with incomplete Palisade walls. I decided to see who might be colonizing wherever I happened to be, but something was off… It seemed to nice outside. I suppose paranoia has saved me in the past, so with that, I bent down and retrieved my FN-103 handgun from the Wingsuit. Once I attached the Laser/flashlight to the lower rail, screwed the Dark tan Suppressor onto the muzzle of the barrel, and checked the Micro red dot was intact. I headed off to the Village with just the pistol, my helmet, and compression shorts. After a few yards, it dawned on me that I didn't have extra magazines, so I quickly turned around and retrieved three extra 30 round pistol mags, giving me a total of 120 rounds of armor piercing incendiary.

After about ten or fifteen minutes of me carefully walking through the meadow due to being barefoot, I donned the helmet and turned it to white hot thermal. The camp was filled with a few people that I could see, with a person on the outside of the incomplete palisade ever now and again. I didn't see any guards posted whatsoever, which would be easy to spot with the thermal… Unless they had Heat blocking clothing like mine.

"Screw it." I mumbled under my breath.

Once I turned the Thermal to a normal overlay, I could see my ammo count in the lower right of the helmet, a sensor array of the people on the bottom left, and my vitals in the top left.

At about fifty meters from what seemed like the entrance, I realized the people weren't people, but lunovians. Why hadn't I used the integrated Binoculars in my helmet to see this was beyond me, but too late now.

"Dammit, I thought you were taking me home." I said aloud, fully expecting the Purple E.L Wire covered woman to appear out of nowhere. "RACHEL!" I shouted. Instead on the Woman who appeared to be my mother, I was met with several Lunovian males wearing Crusade era armor and weapons. Some had double edged swords that shined in the sunlight, some had bows, and some shields with a red cross on them. The shields seemed like mobile cover for the archers, which wasn't a bad tactic… Ya-know, if I didn't have a pistol that could penetrate three inches of steel.

I decided however not to engage the Lunovian people, but try to make peace. So I Slowly removed my helmet, and when they saw may face, something quite peculiar happened. Of course a few eyes widened, but the strange thing was they all lowered, or sheathed their weapons and did this strange bowing thing. Every single one seemed to be averting their eyes from mine, and when I walked a little closer, the stepped out of the way.

"Uhh, I think you have me confused with someone else." I said while looking at the growing crowd of about twenty Lunovian foot soldiers and a few workers. After a few more seconds of complete silence, par for the crackling of a campfire, one of them started talking in a terrified voice.

"Y-You are th-the Protector." He said while continuing to avert his eyes from mine and doing the slight bowing thing that made me several inches higher than him.

"Okay, first off." I said in a loud addressing tone. "Every single one of you, stand up like a normal person." No change in posture. "Come on, stand up. I'm not going to hurt you for looking at me." I said in the most gentle tone I could, which ended up coming out like I was talking to a dog. Nevertheless, the blue-furred, cat like people complied, albeit very slowly and cautiously. "Now, have you seen a woman, about yay-high?" I said while holding my left hand up to just below my head. "Has this stupid robe thing with a red stripe?"

"Y-you mean her?" The Lunovian foot soldier replied while pointing behind me. I instantly whipped my head around to see Aleksandra, the Guardian that started this whole mess, looking at me with this strange mixture of anger, relief, worry, and happiness.

"Where did you go?" She asked with breathy exasperation.

"Uhh, really far away. Like _reeeeeellly_ far." I replied.

"Where?"

"Universe one, and the Core mostly." The instant I said 'core' The Guardian of Terra advanced towards me while simultaneously lifting me into the air.

"Removing my physics again, I see." I replied in a flat tone.

"Who brought you there?" Aleksandra asked harshly while poking my stomach.

"I really don't appreciate being lifted, or poked for that matter."

"Elliot, I _need_ to know who took you there."

"Zofia, but she kinda got abducted by these giants that looked a lot like imperial clones."

"Oh-no."

"Oh-no, what? Hey, did you know Claramond's still alive? Yeah, apparently she has to have these sacrifices so she doesn't die, Zofia called them the Champion battles, ring a bell?" I said while using my Psychokinetic's to move my own body to the ground. By this point, all the Lunovian's scattered in all different directions.

"No, you don't under-"

"NO, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" I shouted while pulling Aleksandra to face me. When she turned around, her face was one of surprise that I had overcome her physics manipulation. "I may have come to know that she planned to basically enslave me, but _you_ were going to sacrifice me so she could live." I said while she backed away.

"N-no, I-I just-" She stuttered. After a few more seconds of stuttering, the other two Guardians popped in through a vortex.

"Take it easy Elliot." The one wearing a white and blue toga said, I believe she was Maroth, the protector of Raxxla, or Zootopia if you will; She had straight, black hair and wings similar to a Raven.

"Oh-no, not this time. See, I've learned a lot about myself, and I now know that you can't tell me what to do anymore." The second I finished my sentence, The other Guardian wearing a white and yellow Toga fired a small amount of Dark Energy at me, which I absorbed for re-firing at a later time.

When I caught the small, Light sucking beam of energy in my hands, the three winged Guardians went wide eyed. "You see, I learned many things in my time with Zofia." I said while using my Psychokinetic's to pull the three Women to their knees. They resisted briefly, but were quickly overwhelmed with my power.

"Elliot, you can't listen to her, she's a monster." Aleksandra, the Terran Guardian said in a pleading tone.

"Listen to her, I tried to kill her for lying to me. But I only got a hole in my chest in return." I said while pointing to the slightly red disk on my chest where the Laser was fired. "It went right through my armor like butter, and she absorbed this much dark energy like nothing." I sad while creating a Basketball sized orb of dark energy, which floated in between my hands. "Now, I don't know how you think you can beat that." I said while dissipating the Dark energy, letting the Three Guardians go, and sitting down. "Could one of you just please just send me home... Don't think I'm not aware of you tampering with my emotions." I mumbled while looking down to the dirt. When I rose my head, the Guardians were gone, only to be replaced by Lunovian's coming out of their hiding places; I knew the Blue cat people weren't the Guardians due to me being able to track the DNA of anything.

After a few minutes of me just sitting in the dirt, wearing nothing but underwear, the Lunovian man I had conversed with a few minutes ago, set my helmet, pistol, and extra magazines next to me. When I looked back, he was doing that stupid bow thing. "Oh, quit that crap." I said while pulling him next to me using my P.K; The Lunovian wasn't expecting this, and fell when I pulled him.

"P-Please forgive me. I-I-I thought you would want them." He said in a panicked voice.

"Relax would you, I'm not going to hurt you."

"Th-then what do you want?"

"I want you to relax. Take a deep breath, In… And out." The man did as I said, and started taking deep breaths. After a minute or so of this, he started to act like I wasn't some deity.

"Why are you all… all weird around me?"

"We can tell you're the Protector." He replied.

"What's the Protector?"

"Umm… You. We don't know anything about him, but we can tell who it is."

"How?" I asked with immense curiosity.

"We just can, i-it's something we're all born with."

"Hmm, interesting. I need to go get something, would you like to come with me?" I asked while putting on my helmet and picking up the pistol, plus extra mags.

"S-Sure." He shakily replied while standing up. I began the walk back to my ditched equipment, and the Lunovian trailed behind me with distinct metal ruffling sounds from his chain-mail on each step.

"W-What is that mask you wear?"

"It's a type of armor, but each one of these circles allows me to see."

"C-could you explain it better?"

"Sure." I said while pulling the helmet off with a hand. "Take off your helmet and put this on." I said while holding out the full face covering helmet. After a few moments of hesitance, the Lunovian pulled off his metal helmet and put on mine.

"Whoa, This is-is… I don't know what this is, but it's cool." He said while looking all around.

By this point, we had reached my ditched gear, and I decided to put on my destroyed G-suit, for being almost naked isn't the warmest. I pulled the three extra pistol magazines out of the elastic waistline on my underwear and tucked them into integrated bungee pouches on the G-suit. I then put on the wrecked Wingsuit, but just the shoulder straps. This whole time, the Lunvoian seemed very preoccupied with my helmet.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" I asked.

"Very much so." He replied.

"I want to show you something, come here." I said while reaching up to the helmet so I could sync my Wingsuit's arm mounted control panel to it. Once I had direct control over the helmet instead of it routing through the G-suit, I asked for the helmet back. "Now, do you see-"

"Uhh, th-they're back." the Lunovian interrupted while pointing behind me. When I turned around, the three Guardians were wearing Identical G-suit like outfits with Electroluminescent wire in their respective Toga colors.

" _This clothing must be their battle wear or something."_ I thought while fastening the chin strap to my helmet. I then turned back to the Lunovian. "You need to go, this could be dangerous."

"No, I'm sworn to protect the Protector with my life." He said while drawing his silver sword.

"It's your life… What Do You Want Now!?" I asked loudly.

"Elliot, come with us peaceably." Aleksandra replied.

"Hmm, let me think on that - NO." I said while dropping the Wingsuit from my back. The Guardians reply was one of incoming hostility.

Maroth, the Guardian with Black hair, and Blue E.L wire on her suit, started holding out her hands like I would if I were going to fire Gamma radiation.

Aleksandra, the Long blonde haired Guardian with Red E.L wire, starting lifting rocks from around the area, presumably to throw at me if I didn't comply.

And finally, Dahlia. The Guardian with Yellow E.L wire, had formed a much bigger ball of Dark energy than the first time, about softball in size.

"Don't make us do this Elliot." Aleksandra said in a pleading tone.

"It's far too late for that." I said while preparing my maneuver. In an instant, all three Guardians attacked me. You might think I was some drawn out slugfest, but no. It was over in about five seconds. Dahlia's Dark Energy Beam was first to hit me, and I knew she would be able to take hits from dark energy. So I redirected the Energy around my body while Magnifying it's power, aiming it right at the next highest threat, Maroth. She had the Gamma radiation Power, and that would reach me well before Rocks or sticks, so I aimed the beam right at her chest; The light sucking beam of Dark Energy came out of Dahlia's hands, formed a loop around me, and landed square in Maroth's chest, sending her out of commission; I think I had overdone it with the Magnifying of power due to her having a hole in her chest, albeit much smaller than the one I received from Zofia.

Dahlia had a look of ' _what have I done'_ when she saw where her Dark Energy beam landed. Simultaneously, Aleksandra screamed while throwing everything she had raised in the air at me. I'll admit, I almost broke at the sheer weight of what had been thrown at me, but once I stopped the rocks and sticks from hitting me, I fired a Dark Energy beam of my own into Aleksandra. This time I got the energy proportions right and only created a gunshot looking wound in her chest.

By this time, Dahlia had formed a much bigger orb of Dark energy, and was readying to fire it. When she did, I absorbed about seventy percent of the blast for reuse and directed the remaining portion off into the ground. I then raised my hands and pumped her body with Radiation, sending her to the ground as a burnt blob of whimpers.

All three Guardians had hit the ground only feet away from each other, and were all doing something I couldn't understand. Nevertheless, I walked over the least dangerous Guardian and started healing her. After a minute or two of healing Aleksandra, I moved to the next Guardian and started healing her. Maroth took far longer to heal due to the three inch hole I put in the center of her chest, but I did eventually restore her to full health in about fifteen minutes. All of that time was spent in an awkward silence of Aleksandra trying to probe my mind for information. Finally, coming to the ever so familiar process of healing a burnt body, I spent about ten minutes healing Dahlia's burns.

"Take me home." I said quietly.

"We can't." Aleksandra replied.

"I very well know you can." I said while walking to pick up my things. "That is, if you're done playing with your food."

"I'm sorry?" She replied a confused tone.

"No you're not. I know you were just playing a game with me to see my power capabilities."

"Fine, but you did almost overpower us if I'm being honest." Maroth interrupted; All three Guardians were now sitting next to each other in the tall grass.

"If that's true… Take me home." I said while Creating a Yoga ball sized Dark Energy orb in front of me.

"Well, how do you expect to hit us?" Maroth said just before teleporting all around the field in a taunting manner. I guess they didn't know I could track beings DNA, or read their thoughts. I waited for just the right moment, and fired the Beam in a seemingly random direction. Just as the Guardian popped in from her last teleport, the beam nailed her in the stomach.

"Shit." Aleksandra muttered while running to the now injured Guardian. Injured for real this time.

"Elliot, Stand down." Dahlia said while creating a similar sized orb, only to condense it to the size of a cantaloupe.

"Oooh, That's new." I said while trying to condense the Dark energy from another ball I had made. "How did you do that?" I asked while continuing to unsuccessfully condense the Energy. The Guardian only smirked in response… Until I stole the Energy from her hands.

"What the hell?" She said with an indignant voice.

"Hahahaha" I said in a faux laugh for taking her Dark energy, something Zofia taught me. In truth, she had taught me almost everything _BUT_ how to make the Dark Energy; It was the same with the Radiation.

"Give it back."

"Make me." I said while absorbing the energy for later use. Dahlia only huffed while turning toward the Injured Guardian.

"Elliot, come over here." Aleksandra said while holding out a hand and gesturing with an index finger. I did as she asked, although I wasn't sure why they hadn't healed Maroth, the Guardian with Black hair and blue E.L Wire.

When I was a few feet away from the Injured Guardian, I found she was groaning in pain on the grass.

"Why haven't you healed her yet?" I asked.

"… We don't know how." Dahlia replied, the guardian with White Hair and Yellow E.L wire.

"Seriously?" I asked with disbelief that the gravity manipulating, future seeing, omnipresent beings wouldn't know how to heal themselves.

"Yes, Claramond was the healer out of us. Now, if you don't get down here and heal me, I'm going to have them beat the crap out of you until you do!" Maroth said through clenched teeth.

"Jeez, stop being such a baby." I said while sitting with my legs fully bent under me. "You haven't felt pain until you've felt a fourth degree burn, that crap's nasty." I said while shivering at the memory. By this point, I had laid my hands on Maroth's burn, but I couldn't get the A.C.R to work.

"What's taking so long?" Alexsandra asked, the Guardian with Long, dark Blonde hair, and Red E.L Wire.

"I'm not very good at this, just give me a minute." I Relpied in annoyance.

-=Five minutes later=-

"Elliot, just HEAL her." Dahlia ordered with a mixture of anger and impatience.

"I… CAN'T!" I shouted while standing up. "I Have to _want_ the person to be well for it to work. See." I said while burning my arm with Radiation, only to have the White Particles of light swirl around and heal the arm within a few seconds. "It's not just a switch I can flick on and off." I said while resting my hands on Maroth's stomach again. "You want to help?" I asked the two healthy Guardians.

"Yes."

"Yeah." They replied.

"Okay. Dahlia, you go get my Wingsuit and start fixing it. Alexsandra, I need you to channel your want for Maroth to be well though my body."

"Why do I have to fix that hunk of metal?" She whined.

"Because you were created first and have the greatest intelligence level." When I looked back, I swear I saw a blush on her cheeks. Meanwhile, Alexsandra was resting her hands over my ears from behind me, and I could indeed feel her emotions; The only downside was she could feel mine as well.

Once a fair amount of emotional reciprocation had taken place between Aleksandra and I, the A.C.R activated and Maroth's Burn started to heal.

"Okay, you can stop the Emotional thing now, I just needed it for a kick-start." I said, only she didn't let go. "Any day now… Annnnyyy time that's good with you." I said, unable to bat her hands away due to mine being preoccupied. I couldn't use my P.K ether due to the A.C.R being very draining on my ' _Magic reserves'_ so to speak.

Ignoring the fact that Aleksandra was literally reading my emotions, I continued to heal the Black haired Guardian. The second all the white particles dissipated, I turned my hands towards Aleksandra and pushed her about eight feet through the air with my P.K. "I told you to stop reading my mind!" I hissed, that is until I saw tears running down her face; It looked like the entire time I was healing Maroth, she had been silently crying.

"I'm sorry, I-I didn't know you wanted to go home so badly." She Said with a few snivels.

"Well now you do." I snipped back. "Ya-know, I _still_ don't know where we are."

"It's cal-"

"Called a _Transition world_ , yeah I know. But me, I can see myself in the Hospital, in an unexplainable coma, yet somehow I'm here too… For the past _six and a half weeks_ I've been here, the Core, and universe one. I found out I'm the galactic Tracker, and I've been given a thousand year service term. Do you know what that's like for someone with a thirty year life expectancy!?" I hissed while pointing at my chest. I was expecting some kind of retort about them being dozens of millennia old. Instead, they all instantly dropped their right knee to the ground, put their right fist up to their chest, and bowed their heads.

"Do _NOT_ start the bowing crap with me."

"Zofia didn't tell you?" Aleksandra replied while continuing the bow.

"Will you stop with the Ciphers for Fuck sake!" After completing my sentence, I realized how out of control my anger was. "I'm sorry… Just give me a while to be with myself." And poof, the three Guardians disappeared into thin air, leaving me alone in the Meadow, par for the Lunovian camp a hundred or so yards away.

The very first thing I did was create another orb of light sucking Dark Energy, and start manipulating it in my hands. I went through all the ways to fire the energy, and tried to do new things like making a cluster bomb by dividing the Energy into dozens upon dozens of marble sized balls, then throwing them all over the place; Seeing the fire-less explosion of the energy calmed me down quite a bit, but I still wanted to get a second opinion on what I should do next.

I began to search for Nick Wilde's DNA signature while I laid on my back in the tall grass. Nick seemed to be at work due to his blue police uniform, but he was just playing on his phone while he sat at his desk, which was covered in neatly piled papers and documents of varying color.

"What's it with you and Furbook?" I asked while appearing in the office with him via a combination of Psychokinetics, Extra Sensory Perception, and Telepathy. When I said my first words, he jumped and fell out of the rolling chair where he was perched.

"Jeez, give a Mammal a heart attack why don't you." He replied while stowing the phone in his pocket and sitting back in the chair, only now facing me.

"Yeah, sorry about that… I'm just going though a lot right now. That's actually why I'm talking to you."

"Aww, is the Hoo-man all out of sorts?" Nick teased while donning his signature half lidded smirk.

"Nicholas Piberius Wilde, I will strangle you from across the galaxy if you continue."

"Whoa, sorry man... So, what happened?" He asked in a serious tone while dropping the smirk.

"It's those damn Guardians and their mother."

"They have a mother?" Nick asked with surprise.

"Yep, She's the one that trained me."

"Oh, you mean Zofia." Nick replied in realization.

"Yeah, she's a real bitch, blew a five inch hole in my chest when I didn't kill the Tracker from another universe." I said while sitting in a chair a few feet away, not that I was actually sitting in a chair at all.

"You went to another Universe. What was it like?" He asked with excitement while leaning to the edge of his seat.

"Far less advanced than the Terran's from here, apparently this universe is one of the most advanced out of the thousands."

"What about Zootopia? Is it still there?"

"I don't know, didn't have a chance to find out because I was busy fighting a man that could run faster than the speed of sound."

"Did-ya win?"

" _Did I win_ , Of course I won, who do you think you're talking to… But seriously, I need your opinion."

"Of course." He replied without batting an eye.

"You remember Jacqueline, right?"

"Yeah, you said she wouldn't listen to you trying to talk to her."

"Well, I found out I'm suppose to live for a thousand years."

"Shhhhiiiiiiit." Nick mumbled.

"Yeah…. Look, I love Jacqueline, but I… What am I supposed to do when I'll have aged a year by the time she dies?"

"I uhh… I really don't know man."

"Come on, you _must_ know something. I-I'm starting to loose it." I said while my voice wavered from crying. "I've go no one to confide in, a-a-and I'm out of ideas. I can't fight, I can't run, I can't hide… I can't do ANYTHING!" I shouted in frustration. Normally, something like this wouldn't affect on me at all, but the stupid transition world brought up all my emotions… "It could be because I lost my Genetic modifications." I mumbled absentmindedly.

"What could be because of the Denim?" Nick asked.

"The… Uhh… It's not Denim Nick, D.D.N.A.M. I've told you this before. I forgot I lost my direct control of my emotions to a degree, so I suppose this is what my personality is really like."

"How would you not know?"

"Well Nick, the last time I was a human being was over two-hundred and seventy years ago."

"Point taken." He replied while sitting back down in the rolling chair. "So where are you right now?"

"The Transition world. But a meadow would be more relatable… Nick could you just give me your opinion on what I should do. I have to stay off an undefeatable army of insect people and I have no idea how." I said while leaning forward in the chair so I was looking at my feet.

"Don't do it by yourself. If it's too hard to beat, ask for help from the Guardians." Nick Replied.

"But I don't want to. You know the Terran Guardian wanted to have her way with me."

"Right." Nick said with a grimace while his ears flattened. "I forgot about that… How about Zofia, even if she tried to kill you, I'm sure she wants your race to survive."

"She got arrested… or that's what it looked like anyway….. BUT, I could ask Rachel, OOHHH Nick, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank yoooo." I said while picking him up off the ground and spinning us around in circles.

"Yep _*Cough*_ Sure thing." Nick wheezed out from my hug. Once I set him down, he readjusted his now ruffled uniform, and sat back down on the chair.

"Listen, I have to go now, but when we meet in person, I'll be sure to repay you for this." I said with joy.

"Elliot, please make it soon. The doctors say she doesn't have much longer." Nick replied in a saddened tone.

"What ar-Oh… I'll try my best to make it in time…" I said in a quiet voice. "Goodbye my afráta alepoú." I said just before returning to the Meadow. Now that I had my plan, I just needed to get ahold of Rachel and have her help me defeat the Thargoid fleet.

"I will help you sweetie." Came from above my head as a figure stood above my head.

"… That's kinda freaky that you can do that, but whatever. Care to join me?" I said while gesturing to the golden brown grass next to me.

"I would love to." She replied while laying down on my right side. "I'm sorry you're so upset about being the tracker, but you now have an immense duty to all living things in the galaxy. _You_ are the single most powerful mortal in the universe as of right now, and you're just getting started with your training."

"But I still need to heal J-"

"I know, But I'll keep her alive until you can make it… Don't worry, I'm going to make sure you have an opportunity to have a life as well, but right now we need to train you for the battle that is to come."

"You're going to train me?"

"No-no, The Guardians are to train you. Each is a master of their individual power, and with their training, you will be a master of all four."

"But I'd much rather have you teach me."

"While that is kind, I must limit my interaction with you. Now go, learn the powers of healing." She said while disappearing from right next to me. When I started to sit up, I was met with a large, dark blue blur rocketing into me. Upon impact, I was sent onto my back and I saw bright spots in my vision. The blur began to squeeze me so tight it almost hurt, and I thought it was some test of my abilities… until it spoke.

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry you were to be killed so that I could live in shackles."

"Hey, It wasn't up to you." I said while returning the hug. By this point, I had realized the dark blue blur was indeed Claramond, the imprisoned Guardian that was in charge of protecting the Lunovian race. "Could you possibly stop hugging me? Right now I have a thing about Guardians getting close to my body."

"Oh! O-Of course!" She exclaimed while removing herself from my supine body. She then stood up and held out a hand for me to take.

"Wow, you're way more interesting when you're not in a dark room." I said while looking at the Goddess.

"Thanks." She replied with a blush. Claramond was the one with a Green stripe down her toga but what really caught my eye was her hair and wings; Her slightly wavy hair was colored midnight blue, and ran all the way down to her waist. Her wings looked like eagle's wings, only they spanned about sixteen feet and were colored the multiple shades of midnight blue. "Are you ready to start your training?"

"Not really, but I know I need to."

"Then let us begin."

* * *

-=Six Weeks later: The Core=-

I was finally ready to face the Thargoids. I was finally ready to stop the eradication of the human race. I had learned so much more with the Guardians in six the weeks compared to what I learned from Zofia in the same time; I could lift thousands of pounds, create nuclear sized explosions, alter gravity within a small area, heal things almost instantly, and so much more. The Guardians could no longer stand more than about a minute of my full strength attacks; Rachel even had a hard time beating me. Suffice to say I was beyond powerful.

I had learned all my physical changes would take place once I was returned to my body on Earth. My Wingsuit and G-suit would be destroyed, I would loose all my scars, and get a new arm. My Genetics would change from a double helix to a triple counterpart, and every unintelligent creature would instinctively know me as the Tracker of the Galaxy. Any creature that didn't know from instinct would soon know that there was a new Galactic protector roaming space. For a battle of the ages would soon ensue to secure the fate of humanity.

"Remember, you'll only have about five minutes to get to the firing position. Once you're there, I'll help you create the black holes within the ship, and Dahlia will give you the energy required for the Dark Energy Myriad. Remember, you'll body has been in a coma for the past four months, and it'll be new to this." Rachel said while preparing to send Dahlia and I to earth.

"Yeah, believe it or not, I'm a battle strategist. I do know a thing or two about making a plan."

"Remember the rules of this position… Are you ready to go home?"

"More than anything." The moment I said this, my eyes went dark for a few moments, and all my senses went dull. I heard the sounds of muffled air raid sirens, yelling about things I couldn't understand, but there was one thing I could hear though all the noise and blurry vision. Jacqueline, I heard her talking, yelling even, but I had to push seeing her aside. When I sat up in the hospital bed, the entire commotion of talking disappeared, just leaving the sound to Fighters and a sirens outside.

"Oh my God, Elliot." I heard Judith say.

"Help me up." I groaned while attempting to swing my sluggish legs over the bedside. Judith immediately rushed to my side and attempted to push me back on the bed.

"Stay down Elliot, you've been in a coma-"

"For six months, three days, and five hours. I'm well aware of that, now help me up. I need to get to that hill." I said while pointing to a rather steep, grassy hill a few miles away.

"I don't even know how you're moving right now. But for you to do that, and now of all times. I can't let you." Judith replied. When I looked up to her, I realized she had the full G-suit and wingsuit on.

" _You_ don't have a choice." I said while pushing her away with my P.K. Of course I got the most strange reaction.

"How the hell did you just do that?" She demanded.

"Long story." I replied while pulling the IV lines out of my Arm, and neck. Along with pulling off the EKG readout sensors. I then swung my legs over the bedside and slowly stood up. " _Ugh, I'm an idiot. I should have already used the A.C.R."_ I thought while resting my hands on my chest. "Now don't freak out." I said while activating the A.C.R, which caused the White particles of light to swirl around my body, restoring it to full working condition. Once the particles Dissipated and I looked up to Judith and Jacqueline, Both of their mouths hung open, and their faces were priceless.

"Just in case, Jacqueline." I started to say while holding onto her shoulders. "I love you, now and forever." I said just just before planting a kiss on the feline's lips. "Judith, Tha se storgí gia pánta." I said while giving her a hug. "Please forgive me if I fail my duty as the Galactic Tracker and protector. If I die in the field of battle while protecting the Terran race from imminent destruction, then I am forever destitute of my dignity and honor."

"What?" Jacqueline replied with a most confused expression.

Ignoring their astonishment, I ran past the two Women wearing only a blue hospital gown. I started following the exit signs mounted to the ceiling, and almost all military personnel in the building stopped and stared at me running, but made no attempt to stop me. When I reached the main entrance of the building, I was stopped by two Military police officers wearing Multicam; The first officer was a man, and the second a woman.

"Whoa there Admiral." The man said while holding out a hand. "You need to get underground right now, it's not safe."

"Try and stop me." I said just before gently pushing them out of the way with my P.K. When I reached out to the door handle, I heard a loud pop, followed by electrical cracks. " _Those sons of bitches shot a taser at me."_ I thought while turning around to see two taser prongs suspended in the air; I had learned that I could use the Psychokinetics for an Active Protection System to stop incoming objects, similar to a shield. "Now-now, Are you done?" I asked while the two electrical prongs continued to float in front of my chest. The response I received was a slow, unsure nod from the two MP officers.

When I stepped outside, I saw dozens of Farragut Battlecruisers floating overhead, as well as two of the prototype ships Judith had designed in my absence. The ships looked like a scaled up version of the Farragut Battlecruiser, but the rear of the ship was much different. On each side, about halfway from the center to the edge, laid two counter rotating gravity rings that looked like they were plucked right off a Majestic Class Interdictor. Towards the front of the ship, on the two hanger prongs that integrated with the main body, laid two massive Cannons that looked like a new kind of Railgun, perhaps the infamous class four Railgun I had heard rumors about it during my deployment on the Damocles; The rail fired from it was so big and fast that it would create localized earthquakes and a crater around the impact point, causing massive damages and death.

Moving on from the spectacle of seeing a floating city in the sky, I looked for the nearest car, SRV, Anything that would be faster than walking. I could always use the P.K to move my body through the air, but I didn't want to start flying in front of everyone; That would make look like I was possessed or something. Then I had an idea, I saw one of the Prototype F-36 condor's that Judith had on her ship flying overhead, so I pulled it to the ground with my abilities. Of course the ship fought me for every inch, but after a minute or so of pulling the joysticks inside the cockpit, I had landed the ship right next to me.

The pilot inside started freaking out when I moved my arm and the Cockpit opened. But once I lifted him out of the seat and told him to go find Admiral Crawford, he was no longer an issue. By the time I had climbed into the fighter and taken off, I was down to the two minute mark before the Thargoid's planetary destroyer would come out of hyperspace.

With a slide of the throttle and a press of the afterburner, I was accelerated to 554 meters per second, or Mach 1.6 within a few seconds; The immense G load I was put under almost blacked me out, but thanks to my intense flight training in the SDI, I withstood the otherwise insurmountable pressure. Only a few seconds later, and I was deploying the landing gear over the hill where Dahlia would help me create the Dark energy Myriad. The second I touched down, the Pure white haired woman with yellow Electroluminecent wire battle wear appeared out of thin air; Her pure white wings fully outstretched to make her look more imposing.

"Cutting it a bit close, don't you think?" Dahlia said from a few meters away from the Fighter.

"I think I made pretty good time." I relied while jumping from the wing of the aerospace craft. "Which direction is it coming from?"

( **Nobody ask to be a hero - Hans Zimmer. Start from 3:15)**

"That way." She replied while pointing at the horizon to the west. As If right on cue, the Thargoid warship started coming out of hyperspace, and boy were the holographic representations terrible at showing scale. The cloud of black and dark purple where the ship was coming out of hyperspace extended well past the horizon, creating a total eclipse. As far as the eye could see from the north, south and west, was covered in a thick, lightning filled cloud of black and purple gas, which started emitting a massive fog horn sound that reverberated my chest.

"A-Are you sure I can do this, I-I don't want to be pessimistic and all, but… What the hell am I supposed to do?" I asked with Genuine fear, something I hadn't known until now. Sure I thought I was scared shit-less before, but this made all those times look like sunshine and rainbows.

"Elliot, relax. Just help me start the D.E.M beam." Dahlia said while holding her hands out towards mine, almost as if we were going to play patty-cake.

"Y-yeah." I answered while tuning towards the Guardian. Within a few seconds of us holding our hands a few feet apart, sparks started appearing in the center of the gap. A few more seconds, and a light sucking black orb mixed with blues of all color formed; The blue was dancing all over the surface of the orb, creating an almost entrancing pattern of light.

By this time, the Thargoid warship was edging out of Witch space, and was immediately met with hundreds of thousands of Battlecruiser autocannon and torpedo munitions. The Farragut interdictors were also firing everything they had, which was quite a lot; Including the 1,000mm autocannons that were now positioned around the ship as smaller turrets, Imperial Beam drivers had been mounted all over the place, creating brilliant beams of blue light upon each discharge. But the main spectacle was what had replaced the Broadside cannons on the smaller Farragut Battlecruisers. The four 1,000mm cannons had been replaced with Railguns that dwarfed the rumored class four. Each shot made a boom so loud, it hurt my ears, and we were miles away; If I survived the battle, I would most definitely see that weapon up close.

But even with all that firepower, the ship only looked like an ant waiting to be crushed by the boot that is the Thargoid capital ship.

"How much longer until full deployment from hyperspace?" Dahlia asked while continuing to put energy into the blue and black orb, which was now the size of a tennis ball.

"Looks like about three minutes until it can fire." I said while looking back to the dark purple cloud of Witch space gas, which was starting to subside. Turning my gaze back to the Weapon the would destroy that ship, I found our hands were the source of the energy; The blue and black Dark Energy was coming directly from our hands, instead of being pulled from the surrounding area.

To make things worse, the Thargoid's Cruisers started to trickle out of the dozens of hangers along the edge off the capital ship. Along with that, it looked like Hundreds of thousands of the AI controlled fighter drones were pouring out of separate hangers. The Battlecruisers almost immediately started firing at the Flower shaped Thargoid cruisers. The two Farragut Interdictors were also engaging the Flower shaped ships, and with each Railgun blast, one Thargoid cruiser was taken out of action. The F-36 Condors were in a full dogfight with the streamlined drones. It was a good thing they were the Experimental type from Judith's ship, because normal f-36's wouldn't have stood a chance.

"Elliot! Focus on the task at hand. They can handle themsel-" Dahlia stopped mid sentence due to one of the Farragut Battlecruisers bursting into flames while it plummeted to the ground.

"You were saying?" I asked while one of the Farragut Interdictors repositioned its nose towards the swarm of Thargoid fighters. Once it was pointing at the swarm, the two nose mounted cannons created an orange glow at the muzzle. "Oh-no." I said in horror.

What?… Elliot, What it it!?" Dahlia asked loudly.

"The Flamestone Cannon." I mumbled as the orange Glow increased in intensity.

"The what?" She asked without a clue of what I was talking about.

"Do you know of the weapon on my ship that could destroy Solar systems?"

"Yeah, it was destroyed."

"They made a bigger one." I said while glancing back up to the Weapon that would make the Apollyon disaster look like child's play.

"Your wife wouldn't do that."

"You clearly don't know my wife." I replied, just as two beams of orange fired into the cluster of AI controlled ships; The beam created a high pitch squeal as it fired, and upon impact, drones were consumed by Fission, letting out a most brilliant nuclear fireball. A few seconds later, and the shockwave hit us, almost causing us to lose control of the Dark energy that was now nearing the size of a beach ball. It was almost as if the whole battle ceased for a whole minute. Guns stopped firing, ships stopped moving, every single eyes was focused on the power of the human race. Sure the Thargoids had a big ship, but it would be consumed by the fission process just like anything else the Flamestone cannon hit. The only problem is that the ship was so big that it would destroy earth entirely, leaving us without a homeworld.

"Damn, do the Terran's even need our help?" Dahlia asked.

"YES!" I shirked back.

"OKAY, okay. I was just kidding." She replied.

"E-Elliot?" I heard come from my left, away from the Thargoid ship. When I turned my head, Jacqueline was standing a few feet away along with Sergeant Dunn.

"Dunn, get her away from here!" I commanded while staring daggers at the EXO suited soldier, before turning my attention back to the now glowing orb of Dark energy. It had changed from the light sucking black and blue, to a bright orange and red. "Ready to do this?" I asked Dahlia, who nodded with a focused face.

We then started manipulating the Energy into a triple helical spin, followed by firing the energy at the now fully emerged Thargoid capital ship. The orange and red energy began to violently spin through the air as it hurtled toward the Capital ship. It then started to make an almost electrical crackling sound, and the moment it impacted the Thargoid ship, explosions rang throughout the visible portion of the ship. We started raking the beam back and forth to create even more damage, which caused a bit more than we anticipated.

The ship started to fall apart in massive chunks where the beam went straight through the entire hull of the moon sized ship. Although we couldn't physically see the extent of the damage, one look with my E.S.P confirmed the ship was in sore condition. I could see fireballs as far as where the middle of the former united states laid, but that was only half the battle. Without creating the numerous black holes, billions of Thargoids would still be able to fight, and the war would be drawn out, and costly for both sides.

" _Rachel, whenever you're ready."_ I thought while preparing myself. Almost immediately, I felt the drain on my body, and I could almost feel my powers fading away as the black holes formed all over the continent. After only a few seconds of being drained, I was too weak to support my own weight. As I collapsed to the ground, I felt Dahlia holding me in her arms, followed by Claramond attempting to heal my body as fast as it was drained.

"Come on Elliot, we spent way too long teaching you so you can be a sacrifice." Claramond said while healing my body's life force, if you will. Although, I could feel that she wasn't healing me fast enough. I always knew this was a high possibility that I wouldn't survive the drain on my system, Rachel had told me that. She even tried to keep me from going through with it. But all it took was one sentence to make her understand.

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few… o-or in this case, the needs of the one."

For it was that reason I had kissed Jacqueline one last time, told her I would love her forever. I had wanted to let her know I loved her one last time, and I hope it would be enough for her to move on without me if I should not survive this ordeal. This time around it wasn't like I could be given a new body, or have mine repaired. I would simply cease to exist, all my energy would be harvested to the creation of dozens of black holes.

"You did it Elliot." I heard someone coo into my ear. "You saved the Human race." The voice cooed again. I wanted to open my eyes, but was too weak to do even that. Then another voice met my ears, one that would bring peace if I should die.

"P-Please don't die… I… I… I need you Elliot. Who's going to hold me at night, a-and pet my ears, a-a-and… P-please don't go." Jacqueline whimpered as I felt her warm tears striking my face. I tried to respond, but only found I was able to think the words I wanted to say… So I would think them into her mind.

" _It's okay my fluffy kitty. You are free to live without me, don't wait for me to find someone to have children with. But know you will always be my one and only… until the end of time I will love you… Goodbye Jacqueline."_


	24. Chapter 24: A new beginning

My New book's first chapter has been posted. It can be found on my profile page, or by searching "The Gene bearer"

How's life treating all ya'll? Is it a banana spit boat, or a milkshake vortex? (I'm hungry if you haven't noticed)


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